Academy XIII
by TheFantasyTrain
Summary: Sora's dreams heal the hearts of others. Vanitas, his twin's, uncover memories. The twins and Riku are sent to Academy XIII, which grooms students for leading positions in the 13 worlds. They along with Zexion, must fight through the temptations of the dark, broken hearts and troubled pasts...that refuse to be forgotten. AU. Pairings: SoKai, Rion, VaNami, VanShion and others.
1. Chapter One: Sora

**Disclaimer:** All rights belong to Square Enix and Disney.

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Chapter One: Sora

Gazing out at his room now that all of his stuff had been packed, Sora couldn't help but feel that it didn't look like it belonged to he and his twin brother anymore. It was strangely empty, lacking all of its usual clutter. Even the pictures that had lined the walls were now gone. That paired with the fact that rain was pouring down in sheets, just made Sora feel even gloomier than he previously had. It only ever rained on Destiny Islands a handful of times each year. Sora felt cheered slightly as he remembered his mom repeatedly assuring him that this room would always remain his and his twin brothers. Sora looked up when his bedroom door creaked open, revealing a familiar head of messy blond hair.

"...You really sure about this?" the younger newcomer asked, sitting down on Sora's bed.

Sora plopped down beside him and leaned back on his hands. Could he really be sure? He definitely wasn't as certain as his twin, who was beyond thrilled with the opportunity to study at the acclaimed Academy 13. A place they were truly lucky to get into. And likely only did because of their father being the well-known hero that he was. But Sora was optimistic, and determined to make the best of such an opportunity. This was only helped by the fact that one of his best friends would also be attending.

He turned to the younger teen with a grin. "Sure am!"

The younger teen pouted slightly and Sora gave him a one armed hug. He was going to miss his little brother. As annoying as he could be sometimes. Granted he typically spent his time arguing with and annoying Sora's twin brother, and though the two frequently denied it, Sora was certain that they really did love each other on some level.

"I'm going to miss you though, Roxas," Sora said, his expression growing serious.

Roxas scowled down at his hands before perking up. "I'll miss you too. But hey, maybe they'll let me attend next year! I'm sure I could get in."

Sora laughed but nodded enthusiastically as the door creaked again before it was then pulled the rest of the way open. Sora's twin stood there. Everywhere he and his twin went, everyone was always both surprised by how much they looked alike, and how different they appeared at the same time. Unlike Sora's brown hair and blue eyes, his twin had hair darker than their mothers, and eyes of a warm golden tone.

"Come on Sora, Riku's already waiting downstairs," his twin said, disappearing back out of the door. However he almost immediately poked his head back in with a smirk on his face. "Kairi's here too. She wants to say goodbye."

Sora couldn't help but smile slightly as he got to his feet. He cast one last sad look at his room and then left. Upon reaching the stairs he took them two at a time, hearing Roxas following behind him. Gathered by the front door stood not only Kairi, but Sora's parents as well as Roxas's twin. Yes, one thing Sora thought somewhat unique about his family, was the fact that there were two sets of twins it. His father Cloud, who Roxas and Ven, identical twins, were a spitting image of, and his mom, Tifa also stood by the door. Riku stood off to one side, looking as though he were intruding on the families goodbyes. Why? Sora wasn't entirely sure, Riku had long been considered apart of the family.

Sora approached his dad first, smiling up at him. He knew that he would be the easiest to say goodbye to, since he could trust his dad not to tear up.

"Bye dad," Sora said.

Cloud pulled him into a hug. "Bye son. Take care of yourself, and please attempt to keep your brother out of mischief."

Sora laughed and nodded, walking up to his mom next. He wrapped his arms around her. When he stepped back, his mom placed her hands on his shoulders and smiled at him, her eyes sad.

"I love you Sora. We're all going to miss you and your brother so much," she told him. "I just know that you're going to excel in this school. But please remember to call often."

Sora agreed, grinning as he turned to his other younger brother. "Bye Ven, you take care of yourself. Make sure Roxas does his chores."

Ven laughed, giving Sora a hug before grinning at him. "I will. See you later Sora. Don't forget to call me."

Agreeing to that as well, he now faced Kairi. He was going to miss her too. They had been friends for almost as long as he had been friends with Riku. He placed his hands behind his head.

"Bye Kairi, I—" His words were cut off when Kairi flew into him, wrapping him in a hug. Surprised, he only patted her back. Looking upwards, he saw his twin watching them with something in between a smirk and a sneer on his face and his face suddenly felt incredibly warm.

"Take care Sora," Kairi said, stepping backwards with a smile. "See you soon."

Sora nodded, giving her his best grin. And last but not least, he looked around for his other little brother. Granted Roxas wasn't very little anymore, and was very near his older brothers height. Catching his eye, Roxas walked over sadly. Sora didn't hesitate to hug him as well, though he was fully aware that it would embarrass him in front of everyone else.

"Bye Roxas. Keep mom and dad company for me," Sora told him, stepping backwards towards the front door.

Roxas nodded. "I will."

With all good byes taken care of, Sora turned around. For the the first time spotting a tall man who stood by the door, he had long gray hair but not from age. His expression was flat as he observed the family. When he saw Sora looking oddly at him he smiled ever-so-slightly.

"Hello Sora. I am the person in charge of your new school. You may call me Xemnas," he said, holding out a gloved hand for Sora to shake.

Sora shook it with a smile as Riku pulled the front door open and stepped outside. He carried only a small bag, similar to the ones Sora and his twin clutched tightly in their hands. The rest of their things had been shipped ahead two days prior. Sora followed his friend outside, while his twin quickly said his final goodbyes. He turned last to Roxas and Ven. Surprising everyone, the older boy ruffled Roxas's hair with a smile before pulling Ven into a quick bear hug.

"See ya later, kiddo," he said, stepping outside after his twin. "You too Ventus... Don't call too often."

Roxas grinned while Ventus laughed. "Bye Vani."

A small limo awaited them on the street. But before entering into it Sora raced around to the other side of his house and down towards the ocean. It would most likely be many months before he would be back. Vacations at the Academy were quite limited. After a brief moment he walked back to the limo, which Riku and his twin were already inside of. With Xemnas sitting in the row of seats in front of them, Sora slid in the back beside Riku. His twin was on the far side of the comfortable seating, scowling out of the window. Sora waved back at his family and Kairi, who were gathered outside, until they was entirely out of sight.

"And we're off," Riku said, leaning back in his seat.

"Can't say that I'll miss it here much," Sora's twin said.

Leaning forward to get a good look at his face, Sora scowled at him. "How can you say that, Vanitas?"

"It's hot and far too quiet. With so many nosey neighbors...honestly isn't much to miss," Vanitas said.

"What about our family?" Sora asked. They could communicate most of the time without words, and they were never found far apart, but at moments like these Sora felt he didn't understand Vanitas at all.

Vanitas shrugged. "Yeah, of course."

Since both Riku and Vanitas were silent after this, Sora went back over everything he currently knew about the school, though he had never actually seen it. It was an academy that groomed its students for leadership positions in the 13 adjoining worlds. Hence where it got it's name. Some students came already knowing what position they would take, as was the case with royalty. Others hadn't a clue. At the school students would be taught how to wield magic, and use their chosen weapons and abilities effortlessly. There were only three rules that if broken, could get you kicked out of the school and they were; physically fighting with fellow students, failing more than two tests, and digging up classified information. Due to reasons unknown to Sora, all students only had to tell fellow students and teachers their first name. However, some, for a valid reason only, were allowed to use a fake name. Last names and familial info was kept classified, and could only be revealed by the student the info belonged to. The only one in the school who readily knew all of said information was the person who sat in front of Sora; Xemnas. If any other teacher or student happened to know the identity of someone, they were bound to keep it secret if the other person wished.

Sora also knew that it was a very small school with a very small amount of students at any given time. And the only real way to get in was either to be a genius or be related to or close to someone of great importance. And of course, willing to enter into a position of leadership. Oh and the school was the safest in all of the worlds, which made sense to Sora, considering all of the royalty and such that attended.

After what seemed even longer, the hour trip around the island to the door to the other worlds was over. Sora slid out of the car, leaving the door open for Riku. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Sora followed Xemnas into a small but fancy building. Before it would allow anyone inside, it required a scan of Xemnas's face. Once all three of the teenagers and Xemnas were inside the unnaturally bright building, the door slid shut, sealing itself once again. Xemnas then briskly led them to the very back of the building which opened into a short but dark tunnel. At the end of said tunnel were double doors that were quite tall. Which Xemnas proceeded to pull open, gesturing that the newest editions to the students should step inside. Riku led the way with Vanitas bringing up the rear. Stepping through, Sora gasped, looking around in wonder. It appeared as though Sora stood on nothing, only time and space surrounded them, with what looked like thousands upon thousands of stars only just out of reach. Xemnas chuckled softly at their expressions and swiped his hand through the air ahead of them. 12 doors appeared, swirling until they surrounded them in a circle with the door leading back to Destiny Islands directly behind them being the 13th. Sora could barely suppress his excitement when Xemnas stepped towards the door clearly marked as a world called Midgar. The same world his father and mother grew up in. They moved before Sora and Vanitas were born so Sora had never been to the place. But the school's base was inside said world. Once on the other side of the door, they entered into a room with the same bright artificial light that had been in the other building. Xemnas led them purposefully from the building, letting the door seal shut on its own. Sora grinned, falling into place beside his twin as he made his way down the bustling street. Most people who passed them wore business suits and didn't even glance twice at the three newcomers' bright attire. Glancing to his left, Sora was glad to see a smile on Vanitas's face as well. They shared a look. Sora knew Vanitas was just as excited as he, to see a world they had heard so many stories about.

At the end of the long street waited another limo. This had become a new record for Sora. Two limo's in the same day when he previously hadn't ever ridden in one before. This time Sora sat in between Riku and Vanitas. Which wasn't a problem considering how roomy it was. But as eager as he was to see the town, he spent most of the ride to the outskirts of the city leaning over Vanitas to peer outside of the window. As they grew closer to their destination, clouds blocked out the sun and rain began falling against the window.

At long last they pulled up outside of a huge building that resembled a castle. Sora got out behind his twin, forcing himself not to bounce with excitement. He looked over at Riku who grinned back.

"This is incredible!" Sora said, speaking the last word in unison with Vanitas.

Once the car drove off back through the rain, Xemnas walked up beside his new students.

"Yes I thought the same thing when I saw it. It has been affectionately named The Castle that Never Was by a past student. After what it is. A castle, that was never used as what it was built for. It is also the first thing that was built in this city," Xemnas informed them. "It has of course been renovated since then."

With that information, Xemnas led them inside of the castle. Now the inside, while grand, elicited a scowl from Sora. The interior was almost entirely lacking of color other than gray, something which he found quite depressing. He could only hope that the rooms had more color in them.

"Follow closely. Believe me, you don't want to get lost in here," Xemnas said.

The man led them up many flights of stairs to the utmost highest tower. Unable to help himself, Sora raced over to a window directly across from their latest flight of stairs. The view of Midgar from where he stood was astounding, though slightly blurred from the falling rain.

"Come, this is the academies meeting room. It is tradition to introduce each new student to the others inside," Xemnas said, pulling open a pair of double doors and gesturing that the others should enter first.

Sora entered after the other two, and blinked from surprise. A large white table stood in the middle of the room, with 15 fancy chairs seated around it, resembling thrones more than chairs. Of the 15 chairs only 11 were occupied, and Sora wasn't entirely sure which ones were students and which were teachers. Some looked pretty close in age. What he did notice was that there was only one girl, something he found surprising. Only a few of the people seated there looked interested in the newcomers.

"Everyone, this is Sora, Vanitas and Riku. The newest members of our academy," Xemnas said, strolling around the table to take a seat. "I hope you make them feel welcomed."

Sora grinned, tucking his hands behind his head. "Hi everyone!"

A few of the students smiled politely, one waved with a grin. Riku led the way over to the three empty seats which were seated beside each other. Sora took the spot in between he and his twin, becoming slightly nervous by the open stares of their new classmates.

"I trust you understand our three most important rules?" Xemnas said.

"Yes," said Riku, while Sora nodded.

Xemnas smiled. "Very good. Then it is time to choose your weapons and abilities."

He moved his hand through the air and a neat row of pebble sized stones appeared. Vanitas, always quick to react without thinking, chuckled softly and reached to pick one up. He pulled his hand back sharply, making a noise like a hiss, as the one he reached for glowed brightly.

"What the heck are those for?" Vanitas asked.

Xemnas scowled at him. "If you had been more patient you would have found out before getting hurt. Each contain the power of a different weapon that will be given to you. You may choose, but certain weapons might not work for you. As was the case with the one you reached for, Vanitas. Choose carefully, the name of what each one is, is clearly written on the top of each stone."

Fascinated, Sora bent over the table, walking back and forth to make sure he got a good look at each one. There were many choices, but only a couple actually piqued his interest. Not to mention the fact that he didn't know what most of them even were. As he moved his hand past one it glowed a bright white, but unlike how it had just hurt his twin, it only let a warm soft feeling into Sora's hand. Liking the sense of security it lent, but honestly having no clue what a 'Keyblade of light' was, he picked it up with a smile. Only a mere moment after it touched his finger tips, it disappeared, leaving that warm tingling feeling slowly traveling up Sora's arm. He looked at his palm curiously, and nearly gasped from shock as an enormous key took shape in his hand. It was certainly suited to its name. He turned it over carefully, squinting when he spotted small lettering on the back. The words were; The Kingdom Key. Sora grinned wider, glancing over at Riku. His friend also held a weapon. It was in the shape of a sword but had a distinct quality to it that reminded Sora of his own weapon. He walked around Riku to peer over his brothers shoulder. Vanitas held what was most definitely another Keyblade, however this one for some reason sent a chill through Sora. Somehow it seemed to be pulsating with darkness.

The lights returned to their normal brightness and Sora looked up to see Xemnas watching them with a guarded expression. "Very interesting. Well then, Sora, your weapon is a Keyblade, a very powerful one called The Kingdom Key. A weapon of pure light. The ability that goes with it is not strangely, the power of light. Don't underestimate it's power," Xemnas said. He then glanced between Riku and Vanitas. "Riku, your weapon is currently a sword. It's title is Soul Eater. This weapon is neither light nor darkness, but will rather be guided by your own light and darkness. It is rather weak at the moment, but with much training and strength of your own heart, it has the power to transform into a Keyblade more formidable than either Sora's or Vanitas's. The power that is currently yours with it, is darkness." At last Xemnas turned his eyes onto Vanitas alone. "As for yours, Vanitas. Your weapon is a Keyblade. It is called The Void. A Keyblade as powerful and dark as your brothers is light. The power that goes with it, is of course, power over darkness. Be very careful when wielding the dark power within it. Interesting, that each of your weapons is a Keyblade or may become such a weapon. Granted, tendencies towards weapons tend to run in families. Along with the fact that many who come to this school, are capable and worthy of wielding so great a weapon. Now, with the weapons chosen, this meeting is concluded."

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 **Authors Note:** Hello all. This is a fanfic I originally started on a different fan fiction site but have decided to start posting it here as well. It's probably my favorite fanfic idea that I have come up with so far and I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it. I have several chapters already written so I'll put the next one up in a few days.

The story will have multiple POVs, mostly Sora, Vanitas, Zexion and Riku but there may be others as well.

As always please read and review/comment.


	2. Chapter Two: Vanitas

Chapter Two: Vanitas

It had been a long and interesting day. All Vanitas wanted to do upon reaching his bed was crash, letting himself fall into a deep sleep, where he hoped to remain until he had to get up again when the sun was up. He hadn't been able to get more than three hours of sleep the night before. He could only figure it was from nervousness.

As expected, he was asleep only moments after his head hit the pillow. It was hardly any wonder that when he found himself on a large circular platform a short time later, he let out a growl of frustration. Because though true, he was in a dream, it was not one that would allow him to get any rest. Yes, the next day he would wake feeling like a complete zombie. He looked up when he heard his twins footfalls, and allowed the brunette to pull him to his feet. Because for him, being inside the same dream as Sora was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I am so not in the mood for this," Vanitas grumbled, running his hand over his face. He was surprised when he pulled his hand back and his new Keyblade appeared in it. Now he had a weapon in his dream? "Well, that's new."

He strode forward, tilting his head as he peered at the images on the circular platform he stood on. Images of he, Riku and Kairi rested in the middle. While a much larger image of a sleeping Sora rested in the background. He wondered not for the first time, why he and Sora couldn't just have all of their dreams like normal people. But no, since he was very young his dreams were often like this. Even if Sora wasn't in them, he would often dream on his own platform. Yet his goal in his own dreams was a bit different...

"C'mon Van, let's go," Sora said. Ever the excited one as he turned and raced up a flight of multicolored steps that had just appeared.

Vanitas followed him more slowly, but soon sped up when the stairs started falling rapidly behind him. He nearly collided with Sora when his twin stood as though frozen in time, shock lining his features. Vanitas scowled, looking past him. A gasp escaped him when he saw his father crouched down, gripping his spiky hair with a look of fear on his face. Sora approached him first and Vanitas followed close behind. He bent down on the other side of his father as Sora placed a hand on the mans arm. The blond man looked up, appearing only slightly surprised as he looked between his sons. At last a small tear rolled down his cheek as he smiled a pained smile at them. It was truly shocking to Vanitas, seeing his father in such a state. His father who was always so strong, who he had never seen cry. It unnerved him.

"Dad?" Sora asked softly.

Vanitas frowned. "What's the matter?"

"How about that... I've become so worried that I've dreamt my sons up," Cloud said. In all the time they had spent with others in their dreams, no one had ever realized that they weren't in an ordinary dream. Vanitas was a little surprised at himself for being surprised by his father thinking that as well.

"Well, what are you worried about?" Vanitas inquired.

Cloud sighed. "You guys, and your younger brothers. Your mom too, even though she would hate me worrying about her," he smiled,"she would tell me that she could take care of herself."

Sora looked baffled. "But dad, you have no reason to worry about us. Van and I are safe, so are Roxas and Ven. Nothing's going to hurt us."

Typical Sora. Vanitas wondered if he hadn't yet realized the full extent of the worry on their father's face. If there was one thing he, Vanitas, was sure of, it was that they were definitely not safe. Most likely not even at the school. He became even more certain of this when his dad began shaking his head no before Sora even finished speaking.

"Why exactly aren't we safe, dad?" Vanitas asked, his voice unintentionally cold.

Cloud looked sadly at his darker haired son. "No you aren't, Sora. Van, why else do you think I would let you and Sora attend a school where we can never see you? I always turned down their offers before this year. And as soon as Roxas and Ventus turn 14, they'll join your school too."

Sora frowned. "But I don't get it. What's going on?"

Cloud smiled fondly at Sora. The younger of his twins, by one whole day. He always appreciated the boys optimism, and could see that even now, he wasn't entirely freaked out. Vanitas however, had long since worried him. He had grown distant from the rest of his family over the years. He had absolutely no friends. Cloud hated how little he understood him. The only two people that Vanitas was close to were Marlene, who both he and Sora referred to as their big sister, and of course Sora himself. The twins certainly understood each other, and nothing could separate them.

"There's a storm coming Sora. And I don't know if anyone is ready for it," Cloud said.

A storm? Vanitas frowned. "But who or what is going to cause it?"

"Vanitas, if you are ever given the opportunity to leave Sora behind. If you ever find a dark path that you are drawn to. I ask that you do me a favor, and run the opposite way. Run as fast and as far as you can." Cloud again had tears in his eyes, as he reached out slowly and put his hand on his sons shoulder. Vanitas shivered slightly, drawing backwards. Of course, Cloud seemed to like giving vague answers. Vanitas wondered if perhaps, deep down, his father realized that this wasn't any ordinary dream. But his advice confused Vanitas.

"How exactly would you expect that I could leave Sora behind? I couldn't even if I wanted to," Vanitas responded with a chuckle.

"That may be, but still, rely on one another. Surround yourselves by people from the light, and maybe, just maybe..." Cloud broke off as his eyes grew far away. "No, who am I kidding? When is anything ever okay..."

"Dad don't worry, I'm sure everything will end up okay," Sora said brightly, but there was finally a trace of fear in his blue eyes.

When Cloud failed to respond Vanitas glanced at his twin. They exchanged a worried glance. Not only was Vanitas now certain that something truly terrible was coming. And that his father was worried about him being too tempted by the darkness. But Sora and Vanitas couldn't leave the dream until they could instill a sense of peace on their father's heart.

Vanitas leaned back on his heals, staring at his hands, turning his fathers words over in his head. Trying in vain, to figure out anything what could be coming. Sora seemed at an equal loss, as he gazed at his shoes.

"Dad...does this have something to do with...Sephiroth?" Vanitas finally inquired.

Cloud's eyebrows furrowed, and Vanitas knew immediately that he had struck a cord within his father. He watched his expression carefully.

"It has...much to do with him," Cloud at last responded.

After a long stretch of silence Vanitas got to his feet. When he opened his palm, his Keyblade materialized within it. Sora after glancing at him did the same. And the two crossed their Keyblade's before their father, who looked up, surprised.

"But you see. You have nothing to worry about," Vanitas said with a smile.

"Vanitas and I, we can take on anything that's thrown at us," Sora finished.

Vanitas watched as Cloud got to his feet. He stood directly in front of them. "I can only hope that you're both right. Remember. Rely on each other."

With that he began to fade. Vanitas watched him until he was completely gone. Mission complete. Now, he just had to figure out what was coming. And whether he and Sora were truly ready for it. He looked down at his hands as he began fading as well.

"'Night Van," Sora said, he too, looked worried. But before Vanitas could say anything to him, he, Vanitas, had left Sora's dream.

He was greeted by the sound of an explosion that shook everything around him, roughly jerking him from his sleep. He leapt to his feet, feeling as though he had again, gotten close to no sleep. Since he had fallen asleep with his shoes on, he simply raced out of the room, very nearly colliding with his twin coming out of his own room across the hall. Together they raced down a few floors and were greeted with a great deal of smoke. Vanitas could hear many sets of voices coming from the kitchen, but only two really stood out. One was a woman's voice, high pitched and laughing. The other was a long stream of profanities from a guy. Frowning at Sora, Vanitas approached the barely open doors of the kitchen, pushing them further open gently. He immediately began coughing, as intense smoke and the smell of spices greeted him, catching in his throat.

"All right, who let Lea into the kitchen again?" A guy with pink hair asked, coming in behind Vanitas.

"No one, he let himself in," the only girl in the academy said, still giggling.

"Enough Larxene," a teenager no more than two years Vanitas's senior said. He had long bangs that fell covering the right half of his face. He wore a lab coat and stood nearest the stove, as a result he was covered in so much ash that his lab coat appeared grayish. The one eye that was visible seethed with a strangely calm anger. "Lea...you are lucky that I do not have time to do something truly terrible and damaging to you at the moment. But I expect to have a nice lunch waiting for me when I get back from my lesson with Mr. Even...or else."

Vanitas and Sora quickly moved to one side in order to allow him to pass by them. He did, frowning at Riku who had just appeared in the doorway. Riku raised his eyebrows, moving to stand on the other side of Sora.

"Okay, what exactly just happened? I thought the building might be collapsing or something," Riku said, taking in the overall appearance of the kitchen.

Glancing at the kitchen himself, Vanitas noticed for the first time that a small fire was slowly growing in a corner, and the cabinets and countertops were coated with ash, with the occasional spark.

"I missed it, but apparently it's someone named Lea's fault," Sora whispered to his friend. "It looks like that guy who was just here might have been cooking."

"That's right," piped up the girl. "He was cooking breakfast for everyone actually, and It looked so good too...Until Lea decided to speed the process up. Honestly Lea, what were you thinking?"

A red head scowled, dusting off his sleeve. "Well, I have to get to class in ten minutes, I just wanted to eat my food in time. How was I supposed to know that adding fire to this stove would cause an explosion..."

"How foolish can you get? Honestly Lea, you would think that after you sent a turkey flying through the roof, you would know better than to get within five feet of the stove," the final person in the room said. He was seated at a very long table, and had blue hair. His most striking feature however, were his pointed ears. There was also something else about his face that was distinctly in-human, Vanitas couldn't help but think.

"Shut up, Isa," Lea shot back, opening one of two metallic refrigerators. He pulled out a piece of bologna and slice of cheese before leaving the kitchen with a friendly smile at the three new students.

Chuckling softly, the guy with pink hair approached the stove, turning it on carefully, he set a frying pan on top of it before glancing back over his shoulder at the others.

"Since that worked out so well. Who all would like an omelet?" he asked. "I know you would, Larxene."

Isa briefly raised his hand before taking a sip out of his coffee mug. With a yawn, Larxene sat down in a chair across from him.

"And you three? I'm Marluxia by the way," the pink haired man said pleasantly.

Vanitas hesitated, glancing at the stove doubtfully. "I'd like one."

Sora and Riku echoed him, and they each sat down at the opposite end of the table from the others. Vanitas tapped his foot on the ground lightly before suddenly turning to Riku.

"So, heard from your father lately?" Vanitas inquired, knowing full well how touchy of a subject it was.

Sure enough, Riku's eyes narrowed. "You know full well that I haven't spoken to that man since I was nine... What's with the sudden interest?"

Vanitas shrugged. "No reason really."

Riku only glared at him briefly before looking away. Vanitas knew full well that he didn't believe him. But he and Riku also weren't fond of each other, and Riku knew Vanitas well enough not to press him.

"Guys!" a teen said, poking his head into the room. He had sandy blonde hair that stood upwards, in a style Vanitas was familiar with seeing on rock stars. "Skip breakfast, we're getting another new student! This time it's a girl!"

Lea appeared behind him, still covered in ash. "All classes are canceled."

Marluxia frowned, stirring the eggs before taking them off the stove and turning it off. "This is surprising. A new student has never joined without an announcement at least a week prior."

"A girl? Yes!" Larxene said, grinning. "I'm so tired of being the only girl around here."

"Not to sound silly or anything, but exactly how many students are there?" Riku asked.

It was Marluxia who answered, following the newcomers out of the room. "Counting you three, and this new girl, 11. However two more are off training elsewhere."

Vanitas followed his twin up into the meeting room, where it appeared all students and teachers were, minus the students that came in with them and Xemnas. They all took the same places as before. Vanitas glanced at a new empty seat beside him, it had to be for the new girl. Becoming slightly more curious, Vanitas watched the doorway. He didn't have to wait long for Xemnas to appear, followed closely by a girl with soft blue eyes and black hair cut short with bangs falling slightly in her eyes. She glanced nervously at the room. Her eyes met Vanitas's open stare and he looked away embarrassed.

"Everyone, this is Xion, her last name will remain hidden for the time being," Xemnas said. "She comes already wielding a Keyblade."

When he waved that everyone could go, almost everyone got to their feet, including Vanitas. However, the one who had been cooking breakfast when it exploded remained seated, a frown on his face.

"What is her ability?" he addressed Xemnas directly. "We all have one."

Xemnas seemed slightly surprised by the question. "That will be disclosed at a later time. You all may go."

Since the last sentence sounded like an order, Vanitas followed everyone else out of the room. As soon as the door was closed behind them the student with the rock star haircut spoke up.

"Hiya Xion! My name's Demyx," said person greeted.

Vanitas followed Sora over to them. Sora spoke first, tucking his hands behind his head as he grinned. "I'm Sora Strife!"

Vanitas offered her a small smile, holding out his hand before quickly thinking better of that and yanking it back. "I'm Vanitas. Sora's my twin."

"It's nice to meet you Vanitas. You too Sora. And Demyx," she said shyly.

"How old are you Xion?" Sora asked, cheerfully.

"16," she replied.

"Cool! Vanitas and I will be 16 in three weeks. Riku's already 16... Riku?" Sora said, turning around. "Van, do you know where Riku went?"

Vanitas frowned. "No idea. Thought he was right behind us."

Sora cupped his hands around his mouth. "Riku!"

Vanitas's attention snapped to the door of the meeting room as it opened and an irritated looking Riku stepped out of it.

"Right here Sora. No need to shout," Riku said, scowling at his friend. He looked at Vanitas and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "You, Vanitas, come with me."

Vanitas let out a yelp as Riku grabbed him by the collar and half dragged him down the stairs. Sora ran after them. Riku didn't let go of his hold on Vanitas until he had led them into his own room, at which point he finally released his grip on Vanitas shirt. Sending the ebony haired teen flying into Riku's dresser. Vanitas stepped back from it, glaring at Riku and rubbing his chin where it had collided with the dresser.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Vanitas demanded, anger coursing through him.

Sora having followed them, took a nicer approach. "What's up Riku? Did Van do something?"

"I'm not sure yet," Riku replied, breathing hard. "What made you ask about my father today? Has he spoken to you or something?"

Vanitas crossed his arms, gazing back at Riku cooly. Vanitas wasn't one to divulge information. "I was simply curious. Why are you so upset about it?"

"No, I don't believe that. You must have had a reason," Riku said.

"Well, it was just a dream we had," Sora said, ignoring his twins agitated sigh. "Our dad mentioned him."

A look of understanding passed in front of Riku's eyes and Vanitas noticed the anger leave his face. In it's place was an almost frightened look. Or Vanitas would have thought it was, if it weren't for the fact that he didn't believe anything could scare his twins' best friend. Because, he had spent much time when he was a kid, trying to shake Riku's quiet calm. But perhaps, for once, he was. Riku was also the only one who believed that their dreams were more real than most. Granted Vanitas thought Kairi probably would, however Sora for some reason was against telling her. Vanitas thought that probably had something to do with his huge crush on her. He wouldn't want to appear too weird of course.

"What did he say about him?" Riku asked.

"Just that trouble was coming, and that it had something to do with Sephiroth," Sora said, making Vanitas's eyebrows furrow even more. "Why?"

Riku paced over to his window, his hands balling into fists. Only slightly interested, Vanitas sat down on the edge of the teens bed.

"It's just...he...Seph—he—" Riku said, growing pale.

"Your father...what?" Vanitas inquired. Patience was never one of his strong suits.

Riku sighed, turning to face he and Sora. "He wants to see me. Tomorrow."


	3. Chapter Three: Riku

Chapter Three: Riku

Riku was a light sleeper. But unlike some, where stress kept them from sleeping. When he was stressed, worried or anxious about something, sleep was his refuge. And he had little to no problems falling asleep and staying that way for six to eight hours. Which is why he managed to feel completely rested when he woke a little after dawn to the smell of pancakes. He felt a sense of dread that he couldn't shake. It took until stepping out of his shower to remember that his dad arranged to meet him at a fancy restaurant a few blocks away at seven that evening. He only had one memory of his father, and that was when he was nine. For as long as he could remember he had lived with his father's younger brother, Loz. Who was one of triplets. However, Riku only barely knew the others. His uncle Loz, he supposed, was nice enough to him. But he doubted any of the triplets were really father material. His mother had passed away when he was only a few months old. Thus he had no memories of her whatsoever. Not even a picture.

Running a brush through his long hair a few times, he slammed it back down, scowling at his reflection. He hated the fact that everyone said he looked just like his father. He had seen pictures of his dad at his age, and though he hated to admit it, he was forced to agree.

Leaving his room, he followed the smell down to the kitchen. Unsurprised at the almost pitch black castle. He didn't expect many would be up that early. And those that were, would surely be in the kitchen.

He pushed the kitchens doors open, stepping into the room. It was lit by a lamp that hung on the wall, the typical bright lights left off. Only one person was inside of the room, one of two students he didn't currently know by name. One with steel colored bangs that partially obscured his face from view.

"Good morning," he greeted.

The teen jumped, whipping around to look at him. Riku held up his hands apologetically and he turned back around to face the stove where he proceeded to flip pancakes carefully.

"Yes indeed... Pancakes?" he asked.

"Sure, so long as it isn't any trouble," Riku replied, yawning as he leaned back against a countertop. "...Don't believe I know your name."

The teen turned to offer him a small smile, stirring batter. "It's Zexion. You're Riku, correct? It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too... Do you usually cook for everyone? Only curious cause this is the second day in a row that you cooked breakfast, or tried to," Riku asked, laughing.

Zexion chuckled softly. "As a matter of fact I am allergic to certain things and thus always make my own meals or get one in town. I don't trust my fellow students to not put something I'm allergic to in my food just for a laugh."

This, Riku could understand. If he was allergic to anything he wouldn't put it past Vanitas not to do just that. He was happy however, to learn that Zexion was at least somewhat friendly. The current pleasant expression on his face was a far cry from the glare he had received from the gray haired teen the day before. But, he supposed that everyone had their moments. He was certain that he would have been equally upset had someone just ruined his meal.

Accepting the plate of food that was handed to him he sat down at the table opposite Zexion. They ate in silence, Riku lost in thoughts of what that evening might be like. Finishing near the same time, Riku followed Zexion to the sink with his plate.

"Care to dry them?" Zexion asked with a smile, already washing his plate.

Riku smiled, grabbing a towel. "Sure."

Unsure what else to do, Riku simply followed Zexion when he left the room. The teen entered into a seating area that Riku thought would be suited for a king. Which, he supposed, made sense. Across the area, instead of a wall, was a very long window. Made from thick glass, and overlooking the vast majority of the city. Riku walked over to it, placing his hand against the glass. Somewhere out there, he would be meeting his father in a matter of hours.

"This is one of three main sitting areas. This one certainly has the best view, and is called the gray room," Zexion told him, sitting cross legged on a couch with a large book in his hands.

The room didn't remain quiet for much longer as one of the teachers came in. Along with the one student Riku still didn't know by name, this student entered into a game of cards. This, Riku thought, was the strangest school he had ever been in. Students could join anytime after the age of 14. And could join at any point in time in the year. There was such a small amount of people that came to the school, and yet they didn't shut down and remained selective. And students and teachers almost seemed on somewhat equal standing with one another.

Shortly after those two came in, Sora and Vanitas did as well. Xion, the new girl, followed them, speaking friendly and laughing with Vanitas. Riku couldn't help but smirk slightly; he almost never saw an even semi genuine smile on Vanitas's face, except in the rare times he observed he and Sora speaking from afar. Not that he was surprised on the one hand, Xion was really very pretty. Riku smiled in greeting as Sora ran over to him. Sora placed both hands on the glass, looking downwards in wonder.

"Wow," Sora muttered. "This is even better than the window outside of the meeting hall."

Riku chuckled. "Ready for our first lesson in fighting with our new weapons?"

Sora grinned. "You bet!"

"I wonder which person will be our teacher," Riku said, glancing over at the man playing cards with the student he didn't yet know.

"Me too, but we don't have much longer to wait to find out," Sora said, glancing at a large grandfather clock that stood in a corner. "Class starts in ten minutes. Should we head there now?"

Riku shrugged. "Why not."

He let Sora lead the way outside of the castle. He hadn't yet seen the grounds, but heard from multiple sources just how expansive and pretty they were. He wasn't disappointed. A pathway of cobblestones led straight away from the castle, with immaculately kept hedges lining the path. Once he came to the end of the path he was greeted by a water fountain, the largest one that he had ever seen. Not that there were many on Destiny Islands. Past a few more hedges and they entered onto a large grass field. The grass was trimmed short and flowers lined the edges all around the field. Two men stood on the field, one was lifting hay bales and setting dummies into place, while the other surprised Riku to a degree. Xemnas, the leader, appeared to be teaching the class as well.

By then the sun was fully up, casting warm rays across the grass at Riku's feet as he came to a stop a few feet away from the teachers. The other one present seemed nice enough, offering Riku a smile when he met his eye.

The rest of the students trickled in by the end of the ten minutes. The last one, Demyx, yawning widely, his hair still messy from sleep. Once everyone was lined up, Xemnas stepped forward with a pleasant smile.

"To those of you who are new, this is your main weapons teacher, Aeleus," Xemnas said, gesturing at the rather tall man who Riku had seen minutes earlier moving the equipment around. "Sora, Vanitas, Riku and Xion. If you would please come hither, I will show you the proper way to hold your weapons."

Riku couldn't help but smirk; he knew very well how he was supposed to hold his. As did Vanitas and Sora. The three had commonly practiced together almost since they were old enough to hold a stick. Riku summoned his sword with a flourish, proud of his new weapon. One that showed his true strength. He was certain that he would be able to get it to turn into the Keyblade within a few months. Though he wasn't in a hurry for it to, he rather liked its current appearance.

Xemnas didn't seem surprised in the least to find out that all four could wield their weapons easily, and simply waved them back again. Riku fell into place between the twins. Aeleus stepped forward then.

"This class is one simply for swords, keyblades, spears and arrow-guns. As we believe that everyone should have a basic knowledge of such things. The only weapons you will be using for now, are these," he said, gesturing at a pile of swords with the sharp tip guarded. "Everyone take one and I'll pair you up."

Riku couldn't help but feel disappointed to not be using his new weapon. But he supposed it made sense to use safer weapons, especially since the teachers didn't yet know the skill in which he, Sora and Vanitas could fight. He would simply have to show them.

"All right, the pairs are as follows: Sora vs Lea, Luxord vs Larxene, Zexion vs Isa, Marluxia vs Vanitas, Riku vs Xion. And Demyx, to make sure you don't get yourself knocked out again on purpose, you will be training against me today," Aeleus said, causing Demyx to groan. "Xemnas will be scoring people for now."

Riku willingly stood within the area he was shown to, holding his sword out in front of him. He smiled at the dark haired girl before him who had a very determined look on her face.

"Ready?" he asked. He knew she could wield a weapon, now he only needed to find out how well so he could figure out how to defeat her. Even knowing that this was a training exercise, he couldn't help but take it seriously. As he always had when fighting Sora or Vanitas.

She nodded, taking his cue as one that she should strike first. She came at him from the side, clearly not underestimating him. However, with a flick of his wrist, her attack was easily blocked, sending her back a few steps. This didn't seem to discourage her as she came at him immediately, bringing her next strike around more gently and countering his block by swiftly moving her weapon to the right. She did this with enough force, before going at him from the left again, that it sent him backwards a few steps. This caught him by surprise. He wouldn't underestimate her again. Deducing multiple things about her fighting style, he switched to the offensive. But he didn't go all out, the fight would be over too quickly if he did. Instead, he kept himself simply sending quick calculated jabs at her, all of which she managed to block. He quickly realized one flaw with her fighting. She fought almost as though relying on strength, clearly taught by a man who could do just that. A technique however, that wouldn't work for _her,_ unless she was lighter on her feet. She was quick enough he supposed with the sword and had better hand-eye-coordination than Sora.

"How are you...so fast?" Xion inquired, already out of breath from blocking his repeated strikes.

Riku chuckled softly, and, positioning himself just right, he moved sharply and slipped the sword from her hand, catching it in his other. He pointed them at her briefly, but seeing fear in her eyes he smiled and quickly flipped hers around so she could grasp it.

"Good job. You're pretty handy with that," Riku said. Glancing up, he was surprised to see Xemnas watching them with a very interested expression.

"Thanks, but I'm definitely nowhere near as good as you," Xion said. "By the way, I don't think I know your name..."

Riku smiled apologetically, walking over to her. "It's Riku," he said, offering his hand for her to shake, which she reached for. "Riku Crescent."

Okay, so Riku was used to shocked reactions when he said his last name. He was used to people treating him like a celebrity upon learning it. He was used to some people frowning at him. He was used to people making absolutely no connection between he and his father. But never had he had a reaction such as Xion's. She turned deathly pale in a single second, her eyes growing cold and guarded, she jerked her hand behind her back, safely away from his. But the worst reaction of hers, was the sudden look of pure anger and hatred that she shot at him. A look that froze him in place, sending his eyes flying wide. When he finally managed to at least collect himself enough to move, he took a step towards her, his hand still out. But now as if it was a peace offering. The anger on her face was replaced with one of equal fear as she took a step back in response.

"Hey..." Riku said, putting as much of an apology as he could muster into that single word.

"You! You're Sephiroth's son aren't you?" she said it in an accusatory way. But not at all quietly, catching the attention of the rest of the students. "Yes, you must be. You look just like him."

Riku frowned. "Yeah, but—" Making the mistake of stepping towards her again, she turned around and ran, leaving Riku staring after her dumbfounded. He debated following her, but before he could do so Xemnas was before him, and Vanitas and Sora beside him.

"What did you say to her?" Xemnas demanded.

Riku was rapidly growing tired of being treated as though he were in the wrong. "Nothing. She only asked my name and then flipped out when I told it to her."

Xemnas's expression softened. "Oh... Well then. We'll have to change the partner arrangement a bit. Vanitas stay here and fight Riku. Demyx, you're going to be training against Marluxia. He'll keep an eye on you." Another groan from Demyx.

Taking his position against Vanitas, Riku couldn't help but scowl as he vividly recalled the horror on Xion's face. Could she possibly know the true story that went with his father? But how could she...most everyone besides Cloud's family thought him a greater hero even than Cloud himself. But her reaction seemed to be more of a personal nature. As though she herself had had some sort of dealing with the man in the past. Or perhaps someone close to her had.

"Hey, you gonna stand there and daydream all day or are you going to fight me?" Vanitas inquired, coming at him full force.

Riku turned to block him easily, quite used to his fighting methods. And had he wished to insult him, he distinctly thought that he could fight and disarm him while blindfolded. As it was, he simply had fun blocking him for five minutes before easily knocking his sword away from him.

* * *

A half hour till seven that evening, Riku had just finished pulling on his boots when his door was pulled open. Seeing that it was only Sora, Riku turned back to his shoes. Sometimes Riku wondered if his father was simply just that so as to ruin his life. He also wondered why Cloud, Tifa and three of their sons saw it fit to be so kind to him. His father had perhaps hurt them worst of all. Sure his Uncle Loz had partial custody over him, and his home was one he would keep the vast majority of his things in. Yet since he was five he spent most of his time at Sora's house, often fantasizing over having parents like Sora's. When he began spending more time there than his own home, he remembered being thrilled at finding a place automatically set at the table for him. Then Tifa began helping him with his homework along with her own children. Cloud taught him how to wield a sword. She and Cloud, they were the only people who had really cared to give him any kind of guidance. Nothing had thrilled him more than when he was told that he was apart of the family. They defended him as though he were their own son. And when the academy was offered for him to attend, it was Cloud who helped him prepare for the mandatory test to get in. One of the happiest days of his life was when Cloud and Tifa had stuck another mattress in Sora's room for him. It was truly the one place he called home. In all that time, his uncle had never missed him. He knew that he was only a bother for him anyway, even though he was fond of the man, and quite certain that the man held an equal regard for him.

"Want Van and I to come with you?" Sora inquired cheerfully.

Riku smiled fondly at him. "You really think Van would consent to that? Nah, it's okay. It's only my father. He's probably just here to tell me not to disappoint him just like he did the last time."

Sora frowned at that, leaning back on his hands. "If you say so. I just get a bad feeling about it for some reason..."

"Because of what your dad said in the dream do you think?" Riku asked. He knew better than to just dismiss Sora.

"Maybe..." Sora trailed off, looking up at the ceiling. "Plus I haven't been able to reach my mom or dad all day. And I just, I dunno. I guess...I just have this feeling, it's like darkness hangs over the air. And it's only growing. Just...be careful Riku."

Riku nodded in affirmation. "Will do. Have you tried Roxas? It's not like your parents not to answer their phones."

Sora's scowl deepened. "Yeah but he and Ven are spending the weekend at Hayner's house, and haven't heard from mom or dad either."

Getting to his feet, Riku walked over to the dresser and lifted up his cell. He quickly typed in the passcode and went to his messages. He only had one unanswered. Curious, he opened it. He was surprised to see that it was from Sora's father. It also had only just come in.

It read as followed: _Riku, don't meet with your father. Make some excuse. You must trust me on this_.

He did trust him. And yet, there was just something about this that he had to find out about. He could almost say that the message encouraged him to go visit his father, it gave him a burst of courage. He lifted his thumb and typed in one word; _sorry_.

"Sora, if I'm not back by eight, get the teachers to come and find me."


	4. Chapter Four: Zexion

Chapter Four: Zexion

Glancing briefly at the grandfather clock perched in the corner of the gray room Zexion let out a sigh. Minutes seemed to be ticking away quite slowly. In fact, he was certain that the last few times he glanced up, the clock said the same thing. Snapping his book shut he set it down on his couch before walking over to it. He peered into its different mechanisms before simply walking away. He wasn't particularly interested in spending his evening fixing it. So, he would just leave it for the teachers. He smiled to himself, curious what Mr. Even's face would be, since he would be the obvious choice to fix it.

"Aww man, I'm going to fail..." Demyx said, flinging himself back into a chair and strumming on his sitar which had the tendency to irritate all other students beyond belief. Zexion disliked nothing more than the racket he made on the infernal instrument. And nothing could ruin concentration like it could.

Isa and Lea followed him into the room. The two immediately struck up a conversation, speaking overtop of Demyx's sitar playing. Knowing that the room would be too loud to concentrate in, Zexion lifted his book and left quickly. Besides, he knew that if he stuck around, Demyx would only begin begging him to help him with his schoolwork. Something he could excel at with his IQ, if only he actually _tried_.

"I can't believe the teachers wouldn't take me seriously! Come on Van. We've gotta find him. If Riku says he'll be back by a certain time, he means it. So something must have happened!"

Zexion flew to a stop right before he would have rounded a corner and onto the same hall that Sora and his twin were walking down. They spoke in urgent almost-whispers. His interest piqued, Zexion peered around the corner at their retreating backs. They were headed for the front doors.

"Look, I'm sure he's fine. I just don't see the point in looking for him," Vanitas replied, as Zexion began following them from a distance. "But fine, if you insist. I've been curious about seeing more of this city anyway."

The twins left the castle quietly and Zexion scowled. He should have stopped them before they left, a new rule set into place was that students weren't allowed to leave the castle without permission. However, he was very curious as to what they were talking about. Sora had sounded quite concerned.

Making a split second decision, Zexion followed them out, clutching his Lexicon in his hands. He tailed them in silence but paused behind a parked car when they also stopped.

"You seem to be forgetting something Sora, just how are we going to find him?" Vanitas inquired.

"Well..." Sora said. His shoulders slumped. "I dunno."

His twin let out an irritated noise. "Great. I'm just going to head back."

It couldn't hurt for him reveal himself, so Zexion stepped out from behind the car, quickly approaching the other two. Sora jumped, while Vanitas summoned his Keyblade.

"Aren't you two a bit jumpy? But no cause for concern really, it's just me," Zexion said with a smile. "Now, I trust you two read about the newest ruling? The one about not leaving the castle?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah, but Riku's in trouble! He went to see his dad and said that if he wasn't back by eight I should get the teachers to come and find him. None of them would take me seriously so Van and I are going by ourselves."

Lifting a hand to his chin, Zexion frowned. "I see... In that case, perhaps I might be of some help."

Sora grinned. "Really? Thanks!"

"How exactly are we going to find him?" Vanitas asked with a scowl.

Zexion spared him a brief glance before pulling out his cell from his coats pocket. He was aware of the twins watching him as he quickly typed in numerous codes. Finding Riku's school info was easy enough, and he scrolled down to where a record of his meeting with his father was kept. Glancing briefly at the name of the restaurant Zexion smiled slightly with satisfaction.

"Did you just...break into the school's classified info?" Vanitas demanded loudly, peering over Zexion's shoulder. "Isn't that one of the few things that can get you kicked out of the academy on the spot?"

Scowling, Zexion tucked his phone back into his pocket. "My apologies. I simply thought you both might like to find him."

Before Vanitas could say anything further Sora spoke up. "Okay, where is he?"

"Only a few blocks away," Zexion replied, starting off.

Zexion heard Sora and Vanitas running to catch up. Sora kept pace with him, a worried expression on his face, while Vanitas lingered a few paces behind.

It had been awhile since Zexion had left the castle unannounced. He used to spend much of his time after dark, wandering the streets. He wasn't in any danger, not with his abilities. He loved the feeling of being free. Unattended in such a huge city. As such, he had memorized much of the city, and knew the restaurant Riku was at. Or would, with any luck, be at.

He paused outside of the restaurants doors, peering carefully through a window. Of course it was the sort that blurred everything inside. However, Zexion could still easily tell that the interior was pitch black. Strange, since the restaurant was open for another half hour.

Treading silently as he had learned to do when he was still very young, Zexion tried the door. He wasn't surprised in the least to find it locked. He stepped back with a frown; it seemed that Sora was right, that Riku was in trouble. And judging by the locked doors, and no lights, he was also still inside the restaurant.

Seeing no other alternative, Zexion motioned that Sora should come over. "Use your Keyblade, unlock the door."

Summoning his weapon Sora scowled, glancing at the door. "How...exactly?"

Zexion was quickly losing patience. Surely the kid must have looked up any information he could find on his chosen weapon?

"Just point it at the door," Zexion said. "Think to unlock it, and it will unlock."

Sora did as instructed and Zexion heard the lock click. As he was sure, everyone else in the building did as well. He stepped past Sora quickly and swung the door open. Complete darkness greeted his vision. He didn't like that. Did not like it at all. Stepping further into the room, he strained his ears for the slightest sound. Yet he still didn't hear someone behind him other than Sora and Vanitas until he felt the cold metal of a blade against his throat. He paused mid-step, hardly daring to breathe.

"Who might you be?" inquired the person behind him.

Before he could respond he heard a yelp from Sora, and suddenly a light was back on. Revealing Sora pinned against someone who was wearing a dark coat, and Vanitas knocked out cold on the ground.

"...You first," Zexion said carefully. Scanning the room quickly for anything to use to escape.

"That one is trouble," said a voice from across the room.

A chill went up Zexion's spine, as he whipped around to stare in that direction. That voice, he knew only too well. All thoughts of still being able to get out of their current predicament fled his mind momentarily. Only momentarily. He opened his book, and with precision, quickly sucked the person behind him into it. He turned towards the man, or woman, who had ahold of Sora. Quickly realizing how foolhardy turning his back to that other voice would be, he instead changed the scenery. Making it appears as if they all were in the middle of a raging sandstorm. He made sure the sand swirled harder around their enemies. Yet around him, the sand was calm, blowing gently past. He could see everything and everyone before him. He made sure Sora could see around him as well. The teenager appeared baffled, but quickly got away from his captor, summoning his Keyblade.

Leaving Sora to manage for himself, Zexion walked steadily towards the person on the other side of the restaurant. He could smell Riku over there, and the sooner he got to him and back out, the better.

"The interesting thing about illusions, Ienzo, is that once you know what they are, they hardly hurt anymore," the voice said, as the man it belonged to appeared in front of him. He was wearing a coat like the rest, with a hood that obscured his face from view.

Zexion leapt back quickly, but not fast enough. A huge blast of sand flew up around him, and he was sent spiraling into the ceiling before landing face first on the ground. He moaned, but didn't hesitate to push himself up. Taking a deep and calming breath, he reminded himself that the sand blowing around him was an illusion. In fact, it was a mere copy of his own illusion. Fake.

Before he could take a step forward, the man gripped his collar in one hand, holding a sword in the other.

"It was a grave mistake, getting in my way Ienzo. But hey, thank you for saving me the trouble of finding you," the man said with a chuckle. "There's still a use for you yet. So I'll just be taking Riku and leaving I think." He let go of Zexion and strode over to where Riku lay unconscious a good ten feet away.

"This? _This_ is why my taxi drove me to the opposite side of Midgar? Enough, leave my son alone."

Zexion looked up sharply. He let the storm die down, and soon all the sand had vanished. Not even a single piece left. Zexion watched as Sephiroth, the Sephiroth known the world over for his heroic efforts in the last Worlds War, strode right past him and towards the man standing before Riku. He lifted him by the collar, his eyes flashing in anger.

"Leave...now. I am in no mood for your games," he said icily. "Or perhaps I should do away with you and your little friends this instant."

Zexion watched in amazement as the people simply listened, quietly and quickly shuffling out of the restaurant. Zexion wondered briefly what they had done with the people that worked there. But a sudden noise in the cooking quarters answered that question. He quickly got to his feet and backed up a few steps, finding himself beside Sora and his barely conscious twin. Sephiroth meanwhile, knelt beside his son. Before Zexion could stop him, Sora had run over to Riku as well. He bent down on his other side and glared at Sephiroth.

"Don't hurt him," Sora said through clenched teeth. Zexion had to admit that the teen did have an abundance of courage.

Sephiroth chuckled. "He is my son, so why would I hurt him? Did you not just hear me speaking with those men?" He shifted his long sword from his weapons belt, quickly flipping it around until it rested against Sora's throat. Sora's eyes flew wide. "Now you on the other hand...are Cloud's son. Am I right? Yes, you have no such assurances. I'm very certain that you will only be a thorn in my side."

Zexion and Vanitas moved at the same time. Vanitas pointed his Keyblade at the man's chest while Zexion opened his book, ready to at least attempt to pull him into it. Sephiroth turned to look between them, a strange glint in his eye. Zexion had trouble identifying what it was at first but then he realized that it was a sort of amusement. As his eyes met the gray haired teens, Zexion blinked. Just what was he thinking pointing his weapon at such a man? Not only was he possibly the strongest most skilled man in existence, commonly revered as a hero. But he was also one of the thirteen world leaders. He ruled over a place called The End of the World. It was much more than the name implied, the place of world meetings and a favored vacation spot. It, Zexion had heard, was the hardest world to get into a leadership position for.

"I have no wish to make a scene," Sephiroth said simply. "See to it that my son gets back safely. And give your father my...warmest regards."

The man got to his feet, his sword still in hand as he walked back towards the door. He left without so much as a look back at them, and Zexion allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief. Clutching his book tightly he suddenly remembered that man he still had sealed within, and smiled slightly. Perhaps he would be able to get some answers as to just what was going on, even though he would have to let the teachers do the asking. Sora approached the cooking quarters, and lifting his Keyblade, unlocked the door for them. Vanitas still appeared slightly dizzy. Zexion approached the unconscious Riku. He quickly checked his vitals, and seeing that he was fine. He bent and lifted him onto his back, allowing his book to disappear regretfully.

"Come along, the teachers will know by now that we're gone," Zexion informed the other two, walking quickly out of the door before any of the servers and cooks dared to venture out. He heard Sora and Vanitas following him.

"What just happened exactly? I mean, was there a point to those guys doing any of this?" Vanitas asked, rubbing his head.

Zexion scowled. He wished he knew exactly what they were thinking. Though he did have one idea. And he was quite certain that it was correct. Now where Sephiroth fit into the equation, he wasn't entirely certain.

Choosing to say nothing the entire way back. Zexion paid no heed to Sora and Vanitas spinning theories behind him. He drew to a stop upon seeing Xemnas outside of the castle, along with Aeleus and Dilan. Zexion groaned inwardly. He was well known for never breaking any rules...at least as far as the teachers knew. He could only hope that this good record and the importance of his own family might help him not get in terrible trouble. Granted he didn't particularly like to be treated specially. Especially since he thought everyone going to the school was almost of equal importance.

He put on a smile as he approached them, and when Aeleus stepped forward, noticing Riku, Zexion carefully lowered him to the ground, where the teacher quickly stooped to lift him.

No one said a word until they were in the entry hall. Where Aeleus left with Riku. And Xemnas motioned the other three to follow him. He led them into the meeting room. Where without being asked, they all took their seats. Zexion across the way from the twins.

Unable to remain silent any longer Sora spoke up, his words coming out in a rush. "Is Riku going to be okay?"

Xemnas turned his gaze to him. "Even will be checking him as we speak. I cannot say as of yet."

"He was merely unconscious. He might perhaps suffer a concussion," Zexion told Sora. The younger teen visibly relaxed in his chair.

"With that assessment, Zexion, would you care to explain?" Xemnas inquired.

That would be easy enough. Once Zexion had done so, Xemnas leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"You three are fully aware that we have a new rule in order today about not leaving unattended? Regardless of age? Or reason? Unless you have permission and arrangements made to get you to your destination?" Xemnas said cooly. They answered in affirmation. "Then since this is a first time offense, I will simply have to punish you."

A deep scowl formed on Zexion's face, and he instinctively sat back sharply in his seat. He relaxed almost immediately however, recalling what the punishments were and arranged his face into a smile.

"Of course, we broke a rule," said Zexion.

Xemnas seemed to give it some thought before smiling slightly at his conclusion. "You must do a thorough clean of this entire castle."

The three students all said something different at once.

"That's all? Really?"

"The entire castle?"

"Of course if that is what you choose...but isn't that Demyx's permanent chore?"

"I am quite surprised you and Vanitas did not have the same reaction as Sora, Zexion. Be glad that is all you have to do," Xemnas said simply. "Now leave, I will convene about the latest events with the other teachers." Lifting his phone he glanced briefly at it. "You may see Riku in the morning. He is resting for now."

They didn't need to be told twice. Zexion was last out, leaving the doors open upon seeing all of the teachers walking towards it. He followed Sora and Vanitas back down the stairs. Lost in thought until he heard his name called twice, the second time much sharper than the first.

"Yes?"

"Sora and I were wondering. Just what reason you think those people had for attacking Riku. And then us like that?" Vanitas asked.

They followed Zexion to his room and when they still appeared to be waiting for an answer he turned to them with a small smile.

"Your father... Cloud Strife isn't he? Perhaps you should ask him. All I will say is that I am certain they didn't have good intentions. If Sephiroth didn't help us, we would have been at their mercy," said Zexion before entering his room and allowing the door to shut in their faces.

* * *

An hour later, Zexion sat in the meeting room once more. This time with all of the teachers present. His book was back in his hands, and he stared at it with a frown.

"All right Zexion, let him loose," Xemnas said simply, leaning forward in his chair.

Zexion did as instructed, opening his book on the right page and directing it to the chair beside him. Out flew a man wearing the same coat as before, however his hood fell down when he hit the chair. Revealing his painted face and tied back blond hair. Seeing everyone in the room he simply chuckled.

"Kefka," said Xemnas simply. "Oh why am I not surprised?"


	5. Chapter Five: Vanitas

Chapter Five: Vanitas

Vanitas woke fully rested and quite pleased by this as he had been sleep deprived for quite some time. He was certain something had woken him. It took only a few moments for him to figure it out as his cellphone vibrated the bed beneath him before dropping onto the floor below, where it proceeded to make the worst racket as it skidded across the smooth floor. Grumbling, Vanitas swung his feet out of bed and, running his hands through his hair, answered the call without checking who it was.

"Yes?"

"Van?" asked Ventus on the other end.

Vanitas face-palmed with a scowl. "Who else do you think would be answering my phone exactly?"

"How are you liking the academy?" Ventus asked, fully ignoring his brothers remark.

"It's fine, a bit boring maybe...is that the only reason you called?" Vanitas asked. Stifling a yawn, he rested his phone between his shoulder and cheek as he shifted through a drawer containing his pants.

"Well...no," Ventus said slowly.

"Spit it out."

"I'm worried about dad. He left the day after you and Sora did. And he hasn't come back yet," Ventus said in a rush.

Vanitas scowled, fastening on a belt. "You should have called Sora. He's the one that's been staring at his phone for the past day waiting to hear back from dad."

"Aren't you worried at all? Mom is...though she's trying to hide it," his little brother said.

Throwing himself back onto his bed Vanitas drew in a deep breath before letting it back out. Actually debating his response instead of shooting off the first thing that came to his mind. A bad habit of his that Sora kept warning would one day get him into a lot of trouble. One that was also quite likely to keep him from making any friends. Vanitas personally thought that was too nosy, even of his twin. Besides, what made Sora think that he, Vanitas, wanted friends? Rather, perhaps this habit was to keep people at bay.

"Of course I'm a little worried," Vanitas said finally. "But dad's a big boy, he's fought more battles than most, don't you think he can take care of himself? The only reason I'm worried at all is because of what happened to Riku yesterday. And meeting Sephiroth."

"WHAT?" The phone slipped from Vanitas's hand as he lurched backwards at his brother scream. Scowling, Vanitas brought it up to his ear again.

"You mean Sora actually didn't tell you guys all about it?" Vanitas asked. He couldn't help but be surprised by this, Sora wasn't one to hide things whatsoever.

"No he didn't," said Ventus. "Well come on...tell me! Or wait a minute, lemme just put it on speaker so Roxas can hear too."

Vanitas scowled, suddenly aware of his headache again. Undoubtedly a result of being knocked out. "No, I'm going to eat some breakfast. Call Sora, he'll tell you everything you want to know. Not to mention he wasn't knocked unconscious through most of it."

There was quiet on the other line for a time. However just when Vanitas debated hanging up on Ventus, opening himself up to get scolded by his mother later, Ventus spoke again. And Vanitas was both surprised and touched to hear worry in his tone. "...Are you okay now Van?"

As soon as the words were out of his brothers mouth he heard Roxas speaking on the other line. Vanitas scowled. So they chose _now_ to be worried about him? Now when he actually wasn't hurt? He bit back a snide reply.

"Yeah Ven, I'm fine. Just a headache is all... Take care now," Vanitas said.

"Bye Van, you take care too."

Vanitas slid the red button across his phones screen. He simply frowned into space for a time, before finishing changing and leaving his room. He did nothing with his hair. One pro to having naturally spiky and messy hair, was that it didn't take a lot of upkeep, and everyone seemed to believe it was stylish.

He strode slowly through the halls, on his way down towards the kitchen. Walking just as slowly whenever he reached the next staircase. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the girl walking beside him until she spoke, causing him to nearly jump in surprise.

"Something wrong?" asked Xion cautiously.

Vanitas scowled at her. "What makes you ask that?"

She merely smiled in reply, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I've been walking with you since the last floor, and you didn't notice. Besides...you have a sad look in your eyes."

"I'm certainly not upset about anything," Vanitas said, walking on ahead of her.

They reached the kitchens to find them empty. Xion frowned, approaching the stove. "Does this seem a little strange to you?"

"Yeah...seems like someone should be burning down the kitchen by now or something," Vanitas said. Pulling out his phone, he checked the time, before quickly checking his classes schedule. He groaned when he saw that he was missing the political class. "So that's why... No time for breakfast. We're late for class... Or do you have a class scheduled for today?"

Xion groaned, following him from the room. "Yeah, political class..."

By the time they reached their class, it was halfway done. Vanitas was surprised to see it arranged like an actual class. He hadn't thought anything in the academy was at all like a normal school. But that room was, even up to the scowling teacher.

"I thought you two were perhaps, sick," the man, Even, said. "Take your seats, and attempt to follow along until the end of class. After which you both are going to get a very, very long lecture."

Vanitas scowled, but slid into a seat at an empty desk beside Sora's. He was beginning to wonder if no single teacher taught any one thing. But rather if they rotated teaching around so everyone could benefit from their collective knowledge.

"What took you so long?" Sora hissed under his breath.

"I slept in. Haven't slept in two days. Then Ventus phoned. Now, what have I missed? Why isn't Riku here?" Vanitas asked, staring straight ahead the entire time. Feigning interest in Even's subject.

Sora followed in his example. "Yeah he tried calling me. I'll have to call him back later. I don't think you missed much, not much of it makes any sense though. Oh and Riku's still bed ridden."

"Keeping the peace between the 13 worlds is no easy task," Even said, speaking louder as he looked down his nose with narrowed eyes at the twins. "If we do not carefully groom the next generation of rulers. The worlds could once again fall into ruin. Casting darkness over all."

Vanitas took notes through the rest of the class, aware of Even watching he and Sora carefully to make sure they didn't restart their conversation. He was quite pleased when they were done, but really did groan out loud when Even followed through and motioned he and Xion to the front of the class as everyone else left. His twin gave him a sympathetic glance before quickly exiting the room.

"Now I know coming late to class is not of the things that will get you expelled, however that is not to say that I cannot punish you for arriving late," Even said.

Vanitas tuned the man out as he went on. He wasn't concerned. He was slightly surprised that Xion looked so worried. She tucked her bangs behind her ear as she watched the man with wide blue eyes. A small smile spread across Vanitas's face without him thinking to smile. He couldn't help but think she looked cute, worried like that. He wondered if she would agree to go on a date with him. She would be the second girl he asked out before. The first being Kairi. Of course she turned him down. And proceeded to tell him the reason, as if that would make it any easier. Her reason was, that she was waiting for his twin brother. That was a stab in the heart. And something he did not want to have to deal with again. Now Vanitas was stuck watching as Sora and Kairi both flirted with each other. Sometimes he was tempted to set it up in such a way that Kairi could overhear Sora talking about it to he, Vanitas or something, as he frequently did much to Vanitas's chagrin.

"Mr. Strife, are you paying any attention to what I am saying?" Even said suddenly, snapping Vanitas's attention to the present.

"Of course," Vanitas said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do forgive me, is their much point to this? Am I going to be punished? I did not intend to come late."

Even pursed his lips but before he could say anything further Vanitas phone began ringing, vibrating in his pocket. Flashing a sarcastically apologetic smile, Vanitas exited the room. He stared in surprise to see the word 'dad' flash on the screen, and quickly answered it.

"Van, good, I was worried if you would be busy," his father said.

"Just getting scolded by a teacher is all. Sora and Ven have been trying to reach you, why haven't you answered?" Vanitas asked, pacing the hall.

"It's difficult to explain, but I can't contact anyone at home right now. And Sora asks too many questions and can't keep a secret," Cloud said. "...Can you be overheard?"

Vanitas's interest was piqued and he walked quickly towards the main stairway. "Hold on a sec." When he at last had reached his room he spoke again. "All right... what's going on... Does this have something to do with the attack on Crescent last night?"

His father drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Everything. Some unknown group, is going around changing the flow of light and darkness in the hearts of others."

Vanitas lost all sense of feeling in his body as he froze mid step. The flow of time almost seemed stopped for several minutes time. At last he let out a breath, sitting down shakily on his bed.

"Do you think it's the same group as before?" Vanitas asked softly. When his father made a noise of affirmation, Vanitas ran his fingers back through his hair. "I see...do you have any idea what they're after? Is Sephiroth apart of this?"

"I'm working with some of my old friends to try and figure it out as we speak. There are countless things that can be achieved with accomplishing such a feat, as you well know. And Van...if enough hearts are altered in such a way, it can change the very balance of everything we know. With things more horrific then you can imagine," Cloud spoke softly. "I have been surprised with those that have proven untrustworthy. Van, take care. I know they're after you boys. I'll do my best to keep you updated. One more thing, there is always a way back from any amount of darkness. Do remember that."

Before Vanitas could process all that was said the call had been cut off and he was left staring numbly at his cell. Images of cold chambers, strange faces devoid of sympathy, and Sora whimpering on the ground flashed before his vision. Along with a numbing dread and helplessness. He was still clutching his phone and staring numbly at it when a knock sounded at his door. He looked in surprise as Lea entered followed by his friend Isa.

"Hey Sora's twin," Lea greeted, clapping a hand on his shoulder and nearly knocking Vanitas over in the process. "Luxord has declared this game day, and there is some scrumptious pizza downstairs. I told him I'd come and get you...hey are you okay?"

No sharp retort came to Vanitas's mind for once. "Yeah. I'll...I'll be right there."

"You sure don't look okay... Come on." Lea pulled Vanitas to his feet and basically dragged him out of the room and all of the way into the gray room. "See? Only people missing are Riku and Sora. But they'll be here as soon as Riku's discharged. Woah, hey!"

Vanitas had pulled his arm free from Lea's grasp in a panic, jamming his elbow into the red heads chin. As soon as he was free he calmed back down, feeling intense shame. "Sorry... I just don't feel like hanging out with everybody right now."

Isa gave him a funny look, as if Vanitas was off his rocker. Lea merely frowned slightly, rubbing his chin with a grimace. "Yeah okay, no need to get violent, only trying to cheer you up."

"Really, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking there," Vanitas said, backing away and ramming into someone. Feeling as though the blood was draining from his face he turned to see Sora looking as if he just ran all the way there.

"Van, what's wrong?" Sora demanded anxiously, searching his twins eyes.

Scowling at him, Vanitas turned away from all of them. "It's nothing Sora. Just go enjoy yourself."

Without saying anything further Vanitas quickly slipped past him before hurrying away at a sprint. Aware that Sora was most likely following him, Vanitas cursed his own stupid reaction to his fathers news. He hated how pathetic he felt. Reaching the back doors, he exited and walked out into the gardens. He leaned against a hedge, pinching the bridge of his nose and breathing in and out slowly. He continued to stand like that for well over ten minutes.

"I thought I might be able to find you out here."

Vanitas jumped, relaxing when he saw Xion standing directly across from him. He forced himself to smile. "Oh hey."

She smiled in return, moving to stand directly beside him. After a moment she held out a granola bar, which Vanitas accepted and immediately took a bite out of. He was hungry from skipping breakfast.

"I won't ask if everything's okay, since it must not be," Xion said after a moment. "But of course if you want to talk I'll listen."

Vanitas was silent for several moments. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier... And abandoned you back in class."

She appeared somewhat taken aback, but smiled at him. "Don't worry about it."

They stood in companionable silence for what seemed to Vanitas, like hours. He didn't mind though, and felt his thoughts slowly relaxing, until he was just standing there enjoying the feel of the breeze against his face. He smiled slightly when a small drizzle of rain began, sprinkling his face with cold liquid that ran down his cheeks.

"I'm leaving the school tomorrow..." Xion said. "My dad decided this isn't the right place for me... Which is too bad, I was looking forward to getting to know you and everyone here better."

He turned to look at Xion sharply, his eyebrows creasing. "Seriously? But how come? Besides, you just got here."

Xion frowned, kicking at the dirt. "I can't tell you."

This whole thing seemed strange to Vanitas. His eyes widened as something clicked into place within his mind. "It's all Riku's fault."

Xion stared. "W-what?"

Vanitas's eyes narrowed as his scowl deepened. For some reason that he couldn't explain, he was truly bothered by Xion's coming departure. Maybe because it wasn't often that he could enjoy speaking with someone, or see friend potential in someone. In fact, Xion would have to be one of only three people that he'd ever seen such a potential with. It irritated him.

"I'm no fool Xion. I saw your interaction yesterday. Somehow, I just know the reason you're leaving so suddenly is that goon's fault... Am I right?"

Xion shook her head hard. "N-no, it has nothing to do with him."

He cocked his head and appraised her expression before simply walking back through the maze of hedges. He glanced back once to find her watching him worriedly.

"Ciao," Vanitas said, waving back at her before speeding his pace.

"Wait, Vanitas!" Xion yelled, running after him. "I thought...since I'm leaving tomorrow, maybe you'd like to visit some today?"

He looked at her with a frown, his eyes containing anger that to someone besides himself probably seemed misplaced. "Oh? But there's no point."

"...Fine then. I guess it really doesn't matter. You don't have to be rude though." It was Xion's turn to scowl as she spun on her heal and walked off in a different direction.

Vanitas walked briskly back inside and then down to where he had heard the hospital area was. He figured he would find it eventually if he just kept wandering around. Luckily, it didn't take him long.

The silver haired friend of Sora's, stood in the center of a large circular white room stifling a yawn. Sora was nowhere in sight, Vanitas figured he was probably still searching for him. He strode right up to Riku and glared at him.

"Just what did you do to Xion?"

Riku blinked, appearing taken aback. "What?"

Vanitas gripped his shirt collar, unable to keep his anger carefully in check. A faint dark power began emanating from his hands, slowly working its way up his arms.

"I know it's your fault she's leaving," Vanitas said through gritted teeth.

Worry etched on Riku's face for a moment before he scowled. "First of all, she's leaving? Second, I have never seen her before in my life until meeting her here, and have no clue why she seems to dislike me so. Thirdly, you really need to calm down...what would your father say? Lastly," Riku said, his voice at the last mirroring Vanitas's as he reached to place his hands around the others wrists, "Get your hands off of me."

As soon as his hands clamped down on Vanitas's wrist, the dark haired teen immediately let go, the darkness vanishing as quickly as it came as Vanitas quickly took several steps back. His expression changed to one of dejectedness as he stared at his shoes.

"...I apologize," Riku said after a moment, his expression softening some. "For grabbing your wrist. I know you can't stand that."

Vanitas turned a cold stare up at him. "Whatever. You really have no clue about any of this do you?"

Riku shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Not one. Maybe I should try asking her again."

"There you are Van!" Sora said, bounding into the room. He scowled at his brother. "I've been looking literally everywhere for you! You okay...?"

Vanitas merely nodded. The entire day had been a nightmare to him. Starting with the missed class and now this. He wasn't entirely certain where the day had gone, but the sun had just vanished below the horizon.

Before he could think to answer Sora, the door burst open again, and in poured the rest of the residents of the castle. Minus two.

"Sir I'm really sorry about this," Lea said as he followed behind Xemnas. "He's had it so under control for the past few months we just got careless. Besides, look at the sun this is way too early."

"I am fully aware of all of those things Lea, but that was still reckless of you and Isa," Xemnas said. He turned to address the room at large. "For all those that are not already aware, Isa, a student amongst us, inherits an interesting ability from his family line. On full moons he often times switches into a wolf form in which he is a danger to himself and others. Now, we have been training him to keep his transformation in check, in which case he can usually prevent himself from becoming hostile. However, because of a series of unfortunate events, he is running at large throughout the castle as we speak, not at all in his mind. This is an occurrence that I must assure all of you, will not be happening again."

Vanitas's mouth dropped open at this information, and even more so at Xemnas treating it as if he were discussing the weather.

"Is that at all?" Vanitas said cockily. He looked around the room. "Xion... Where's Xion?"

Xemnas looked around before his calm resolve was then shaken some. "This is more urgent then I initially believed. Zexion, teachers, come along. Everyone else, you will be locked in here for your own safety."

"But..." Lea began but was silenced by a glare from Xemnas.

"Wait...let me come too, I might be of some help," Riku said, summoning his sword from thin air.

Xemnas glanced at Even. "Is he well enough?" When the man hesitantly gave his affirmative, Xemnas nodded. "Very well, you may come. But you will listen to every instruction I give you...understood?"

Riku nodded solemnly. "Yes sir."

Vanitas stepped forward, noticing out of the corner of his eye, that he was mirrored by his twin. "I want to come as well." Vanitas said, while Sora nodded eagerly.

Xemnas scowled at them. "No you will not. Do not argue, I don't have time, not while two of my students' safety hangs in the balance."

Vanitas still opened his mouth to argue but all the teachers, along with Zexion and Riku were already out of the room, and Xemnas hurriedly followed, shutting the door and putting a magical protection spell over the it to prevent it being unlocked by Keyblade.


	6. Chapter Six: Riku

Chapter Six: Riku

"Do you know in what way you can also turn into a werewolf Riku, besides family connection?" Xemnas inquired softly.

Riku nodded, walking along as quietly as possible behind Zexion. Who had, with his ability, made them all blend in with the scenery to such an extent, that Riku had to really strain his eyes to see his hand if he held it in front of his face. When he asked Zexion if it would be enough to trick the wolf, Zexion had given an affirmative, explaining that their eyesight was poor.

"Yes, you can turn into a werewolf by getting their saliva into your bloodstream. This is usually done by getting bitten by one. Once their saliva has hit your bloodstream, within a matter of mere minutes, you will immediately transform into one so long as it is night and there is some matter of moon out," Riku said, speaking rapidly.

Zexion turned to give him a funny look. "How do you know so much about them?"

Riku chuckled without hardly making a sound. "There are these shows my uncle used to watch. After hearing it ten times in a row you start remembering it."

"Quiet now," Xemnas hissed back at them, motioning everyone forward.

Riku crept through the castle in silence after that, straining his ears for any sound. Yet, nothing at all met his ears besides the muffled footsteps of his companions. An awful stench hung in the air, which, Riku guessed, was Isa, however he currently had no clue which direction it was in.

"If you don't mind me saying, sir, I think it best if we split into multiple groups," Zexion whispered after they had walked the length of the castle.

Everyone came to a halt in front of him, causing Riku to bump into Zexion from lack of noticing the still shimmers in the air. When he focused as best he could, he saw Xemnas facing the rest of the group.

"Very well... We'll split into three groups, you will be the leader of one, Dilan will be the leader of the second group, and I will be the leader of the third," Xemnas said. "Who would you like in your group?"

Riku waited impatiently for what seemed to take Zexion forever to decide, but in truth was only a mere moment. Riku frowned, gripping his sword tighter as he felt a strange pain in his heart, the same pangs he had been feeling since his confrontation at the restaurant. He only wished he remembered something other than being greeted by someone he thought was a server. Sora told him that his father rescued them, of which merely irritated him. Perhaps he should feel grateful, but the man didn't even care to see him when he woke up. Send a text, or anything. Though, Riku supposed he shouldn't be surprised. But even his scatterbrained uncle had called to make sure he was okay, even speaking with the staff to make sure it wasn't more serious than Riku was letting on. Sometimes he felt his life would be better if his father just exited out of it. Instead he was there just enough to make Riku wish for more.

"Riku," Zexion said, snapping Riku out from his depressing thoughts. "I want Riku and Mr. Aeleus. You should perhaps pair up with Mr. Even. And Mr. Dilan and Mr. Braig should go. For our best chance of success."

Xemnas nodded quickly, grabbing Even and walking off, while Braig and Dilan went a different direction. Zexion quickly took the lead of their group with Aeleus bringing up the rear.

"Think the girl, Xion, is still all right?" Riku asked quietly, keeping pace directly behind Zexion.

"At this point she has a 50/50 chance...ah he's this way," Zexion said, speeding up and rounding the corner quickly. "Feel the darkness in the air?"

Riku frowned. "Yeah...and I think Xion's with him."

"...How can you tell exactly?" Zexion asked, without looking at him.

"I can smell her. She smells like the sea," Riku said, walking around Zexion anxiously. She was only just around the next corner, that much he knew.

Zexion pulled him back a moment before he rounded the next corner, taking the lead again he stood with his back to the wall and peered out slowly. Riku couldn't stand how slowly time seemed to be moving, especially now that he heard growling. Luckily he didn't have to wait long for Zexion to suddenly leap out from behind the wall and shoot ice at a large silver wolf.

Riku took in multiple things in a matter of a single second. Isa the wolf was larger than he thought it would be, it was facing a corner still, despite the ice thrown at it, and in the deep shadows before it lay Xion.

"Riku help me distract—hey! Wait!" Zexion yelled.

Riku had run forward, using the power of his sword to propel himself faster in order to block the wolf's attack on Xion. An attack he just barely saw coming. He barreled into it's shoulder but it's claws still raked his shoulder and back, causing him to bite his lip to avoid crying out. His shoulder screaming in pain, he knelt to lift Xion before using most of his energy to leap back behind Zexion, falling the last couple feet to the ground with Xion clutched safely against his chest.

Zexion glanced briefly at him before running towards the wolf with Aeleus on his heals. Riku gasped as a shooting pain went up his shoulder, all numbness going away. Worried, he brushed Xion's bangs back from her face, still holding her to him.

"Did he bite you?" he asked, breathless from running so fast.

Xion shook her head against him, whimpering slightly. "N-no. I thought..." Her voice broke as she shook before letting out a moan from pain.

Riku didn't know how hurt she was, but gauging by the fact that she wasn't even attempting to fight when he saw her, he was guessing it wasn't too trivial. He tried his hardest to swallow his own pain. The memory of someone stroking his hair back when he had gotten hurt in some way that he couldn't remember, kept him stroking her hair almost on instinct.

"It's okay, you're safe now," said Riku, glancing up to see the other two groups rushing into the room. While the rest pinned Isa down, Even sunk a needle into a small vial before quickly pushing it into the wolf's arm. It stopped struggling immediately as its eyes rolled back into its head.

Riku's vision blurred slightly, likely from a lack blood, as he saw Aeleus and Dilan carrying Isa out of the room, still in wolf form. Xion still whimpered slightly as the rest of the group approached them. It took him a moment before he realized one of the teachers he didn't yet know by name was giving him a command. He blinked, squinting up at him.

"Let go of her Riku, we need to get you both back to Even's lab," the man said. Riku vaguely noticed that the man wore an eyepatch, but he did as instructed, noticing that Xion had a large gash on her arm and at least one bruise that he could see on her face. She glanced down at him briefly before closing her eyes.

Riku attempted to stand but took one step and would have fallen on his face if Zexion hadn't caught him.

"Wait Braig. He's more injured than I thought, teleport them back to Even's lab now, we'll meet you there," Xemnas said.

"Right away," the man, Braig, replied.

He walked up to Riku and gripped his shoulders. The next thing Riku knew he was back in the bright white lab that was also a place for people who were injured to go. There were several gasps as Braig continued to keep Riku on his feet, while still holding Xion. The next thing Riku knew he was being led over to his bed from before by Marluxia and Lea.

"Seriously, did Isa do all this?" Larxene asked. "Isn't that like against the school rules? No fighting with other classmates?"

"It wasn't on purpose, or yes it would be," Braig replied. Riku opened his eyes to see him laying Xion on the bed beside his own. "All right, it's safe now everyone. So as soon as Xemnas lifts the seal you all can leave. Or let me rephrase that, you all _have_ to leave."

Sora sat down at the foot of Riku's bed, watching him worriedly. "Come on, stay conscious."

Riku chuckled slightly. "So long as I have control over it. But I'll be fine Sora, don't worry about me."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Vanitas attempting to calm Xion down, just before Xemnas entered, followed by the rest of the teachers and Zexion. Even immediately turned to Zexion, listing off strangely titled things for the latter to fetch. Zexion obeyed at once, he hurried over to some tall metal shelves in a corner.

"All of you, out! Except for Zexion," Even said. When Xemnas hesitated he let out an irritated huff. "That includes you Xemnas."

The man made an irritated sound in his throat before following the others from the room. Sora hesitated briefly.

"See you Riku," Sora said with a smile. "Tomorrow I'll bring all kinds of fun games to play, okay?"

Riku smiled at him. "Thanks Sora."

"Shoo!" Even snapped at Sora, who, in response, left quickly.

Blackness encroached from the edges of Riku's vision, he blinked to try and clear it as his thoughts grew hazy. Zexion appeared before him, holding a dropper-full of gray liquid.

"Even, I think he needs your attention first," Zexion said simply. "Open your mouth Riku."

Reluctantly, Riku did as instructed, and Zexion squirted the liquid near the back of his throat causing him to choke slightly. Still, it all went down. Even walked up to him then, and proceeded to clean his wounds and bandage him, while Zexion went over to Xion with his dropper.

His thoughts growing clearer, Riku fully noticed the pain as Even finished wrapping him up. Now he felt thoroughly exhausted, and the pain was back in his chest again. The same dull throbbing pain. As soon as Even was done, he and Zexion switched patients again, and Zexion brought over a different vial.

"Here, drink this. I'm afraid those scratches are going to take some time to heal. But you will," Zexion said with a small smile, handing the vial to Riku.

Riku drank it, keeping a straight face despite the nastiness of it. "Lovely. Mind telling me why Xemnas listened to you so entirely back there? And why exactly you're helping a teacher with us now? I mean why do they listen to you with such absoluteness?"

Zexion appeared slightly taken aback, but the same small smile appeared on his face almost like a mask. "Perhaps because I've never failed them on a mission and have completed so far, 437 such missions. Of varying degrees of danger. I am the strategist. The first time I haven't finished a task with ease is yesterday, with those people that attempted to kidnap you. I underestimated them... How are you feeling at present?"

Riku shrugged and winced. "How do you think exactly?"

The other chuckled slightly, before his expression turned serious. "Tell me though, are you always so foolish as to run in front of a werewolf, blocking it's attack with your own body?"

Riku frowned. "No...I wasn't thinking. I just didn't want him to bite her. Looked like what it was trying to do."

"I see..." Zexion said.

He was called away then to help Even with Xion. Riku, with nothing else to do, found himself drifting to sleep. For a time he dreamt of nothing, but then he started hearing people speaking. Three voices, one sounded like Even, of the other two, one sounded familiar and the other was a woman.

"Mr. Hewley," Even said. "I didn't know you were coming to see your daughter. Don't worry, she is only sleeping. She was in a bit of shock, and pretty well banged up. But nothing she shouldn't make a quick recovery from. That boy I hear, got in the way before the wolf could do any further damage to her."

Wait...was he still dreaming? The conversation sounded too real...

"That is a relief. The boy...Sephiroth's son I take it? How is he?" the man, Mr. Hewley said.

Suddenly realizing as he heard footsteps approaching him, that he wasn't in a dream. Riku kept his eyes shut, wracking his brain to try and figure out who this man was. Where he had heard his voice before. Even his name was familiar.

"He was wounded, but should make a full recovery, and be well enough to leave this room within a week," Even said simply.

A week? Riku was near tempted to yank his hair out, but instead chose to remain just as still as before. Soon he wondered if he had frowned, with what Mr. Hewley said next.

"I know you're faking it boy, your breathing is too fast," said Mr. Hewley. "I only wish to thank you."

Riku chuckled and opened his eyes, attempting to push himself into a sitting position but being pushed back down by the tall muscular man that stood before him. The man was possibly around the age of forty, and his dark hair was peppered with gray. He was frowning.

"Rest... What's your full name boy?" the man said, making Riku feel as though he stood at attention.

"Riku...Riku Crescent... You're Xion's father?" Riku said.

The man released his grip and Riku sat right up. With a scowl at this, the man gave Riku a nod of appreciation. "I cannot thank you enough for protecting my daughter. Is there any way I can repay you?"

The woman in the room walked to stand beside him, looking slightly alarmed as she met Riku's eye before smiling at him kindly. Must be Xion's mother, Riku thought. Xion looked a lot like her, apart from their hair color, Xion had her fathers hair color while her mother had blond. He returned the smile before looking back at her father.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad she's okay," Riku said with a smile. "But...have I met you before?"

The man appraised him silently for a moment. Riku didn't miss the look his wife sent him either, but chose to ignore it.

"Perhaps, a long time ago," the man said. "Thank you again."

"Wait sir..." Before Riku could say anything further the man had engaged Even in conversation again, whilst his wife began stroking the sleeping Xion's hair back from her eyes. When the woman whispered something softly Xion opened her eyes and turned to look at her. Her eyes were calmer than before as she sat up quickly and enveloped her mother in a hug. Mr. Hewley walked over to her and kissed the top of her head with a small smile.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" her mother asked gently.

"Fine mom," she said, sounding somewhat embarrassed. "...Thanks to Riku anyway."

Riku looked away as she glanced at him, feeling two equally unpleasant emotions. One was embarrassment, the other jealousy. What wouldn't he give to be spoken to as her parents were speaking to her just then. Sure, Cloud and Tifa sometimes seemed like a mother and father to him. But they weren't actually his parents, they hadn't exactly adopted him either. He supposed he would never know that kind of love from biological parents. No thought, had ever made him as sad as that one did.

It was awhile before Mr. and Mrs. Hewley left, having spoken the rest of the time in hushed voices to their daughter. But nearly as soon as they were out of the room Riku drifted once more to sleep. And was startled awake what felt like moments later when Zexion tapped his shoulder. Riku jumped up with a scowl.

"Do I need more medicine or something?" he asked.

Zexion shook his head, before sitting down beside him. "Listen Riku. I am not allowed to pass this information on. And no else is going to, that's for sure. But you know that I went with Sora and Vanitas to rescue you?" When Riku nodded he plowed on, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Well, I didn't catch many faces, but of them was your uncle...Kadaj."

Riku sat up again abruptly, his eyes wide. "Him? But...no, why would he...?"

Zexion sighed, looking at the ground. "I can't say anymore I'm afraid. You mustn't tell anyone that I gave you that piece of information either. If you do, you'll regret it. I only thought you should know. Stay away from him for your own good."

He got up to leave. "Wait," Riku said. "How do you know my uncle?"

Zexion frowned, fiddling with a book in his hands. "Let's just say our paths crossed before and leave it at that. He doesn't have one sane bone in his body."

With that said Riku saw no choice but to just let Zexion leave. It seemed his whole family, apart from maybe Loz, had caused trouble for everyone he knew. But what was that about his uncle being one of those that tried to kidnap him? Who was the reason his heart now ached painfully at times. Why would he do such a thing to him? Granted he'd never particularly liked said uncle. It still just made no sense to Riku. He wished Cloud would answer his phone, he was after all, the person who had warned him not to meet his father.

The chime of a text sounded in his back pocket and he quickly grabbed it, sending sharp stabs of pain into his shoulder. He flipped it over wincing. His heart skipped a beat as always when he saw it was from Kairi. But what was she doing up at two in the morning? He quickly read the text:

 _'Riku hi. If you're awake, could you call me?'_

Unable to keep the smile from his face, he glanced around for somewhere he could go into so he wouldn't risk Xion waking up. It seemed the adjoining bathroom was the only place. He slowly got to his feet, keeping his arm stiff at his side. Still a soft groan escaped him from the pain. He left the light off and lowered himself to the floor as dizziness overwhelmed him. Leaning against the door of the bathroom he called Kairi.

She answered on the second ring. "Riku!"

He smiled again from the happiness in her voice. "Hey Kairi...what's up? Everything okay over there?"

There was silence briefly but just as Riku grew alarmed she spoke again. "Yeah...well kinda."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kinda? I'm not liking the sound of that."

"It's just, I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen. And my dad's never home anymore, he won't even talk about what's going on. Riku, he always tells me everything," said Kairi, sounding as though she were trying to hide how worried she truly was.

Not wanting to worry her, Riku was careful to keep his voice free from emotion when he spoke next. "I wouldn't worry too much. I mean there have been a few strange things lately, nothing too out of the ordinary, and there always will be in life, right?"

She let out a sigh. "I guess... I'm sorry, don't let me keep you up, if you want to go to bed I understand."

"Don't worry about it," Riku said.

They spoke about nonsensical things for the better half of 20 minutes, until Kairi sounded calm and yawned.

"Well, I should get going. We both have classes tomorrow," Kairi said. "Thanks for chatting with me so late Riku."

"No problem," was the response he made. "'Night Kairi."

"Goodnight." The phone clicked off and he slowly lowered the phone from his ear, stifling a yawn himself as he got to his feet. Almost as soon as his head hit his pillow he was asleep once more.


	7. Chapter Seven: Sora

Chapter Seven: Sora

Sora rested his chin in his hand as he listened to Even continue on with his talk about their history. Despite his best efforts, he kept finding his attention wandering. Out of the right corner of his eye, he saw Vanitas doodling on a piece of paper. Chuckling softly to himself, he glanced towards the front to see Riku gazing into his desk as though his life depended on it. Riku had rejoined their classes two weeks prior, after spending a week inside Even's lab so he could heal. Xion only had to stay in the lab for three days, but in that time Sora was surprised to see them actually speaking kindly to each other and getting along...for the most part. They had spent much of their time chatting and playing various board games, but what else was there to do when they were both stuck in one room for days on end? Either way, Sora was happy to see that Xion wasn't acting as terrified of Riku anymore. And what's more, is that for some reason her parents had changed their minds and were allowing her to stay at the school. Which Sora was happy about, he was always eager to make new friends. And he thought sometimes he saw a glance shot Riku's way by Xion when his friend wasn't looking. It wasn't strange for girls to glance twice at Riku, but still, Sora thought it might be interesting to see whether anything came out of their friendship. Glancing back at Vanitas he tapped his pencil to his chin in thought. He could only hope that his brother wouldn't be too disappointed if a relationship were to develop between them.

Life had fallen into a quiet routine, or mostly quiet. Sora had learned when which classes took place. He had made friends with most everyone, apart from finding out the hard way that Larxene wasn't a good idea to befriend.

Sora had also at last heard from his dad. Though their conversation was very brief, and still left a worry in the back of Sora's mind. Especially since Vanitas had not been acting right since a few days after they got there. And despite Sora's best efforts, he couldn't get him to talk about it.

"What do you think about that Vanitas?" Even asked suddenly.

His pencil still against his chin Sora looked over at Vanitas worriedly. Had he been paying any attention? Though he always kept up good grades, it wasn't always Vanitas's strong suit to stay grounded in the present.

Vanitas leaned his elbows on his desk, appearing as though he were deliberating his answer. Perhaps he really had been paying attention. "Honestly sir...I don't really know," said Vanitas. Sora smiled, more like he hadn't, same as Sora.

Their teacher however seemed to believe that he just had no opinion on the subject and directed his question at Isa, who really gave a real response. Isa had been very nice to everyone since his incident of turning into a wolf. Especially to those he hurt, although he and Xion just didn't seem to hit it off for some reason or another.

At last the class was over and everyone seemed in an equal hurry to leave. Everyone gathered in the gray room, including Sora, who sat down on a couch between Riku and Lea. Vanitas meanwhile sat down hard in a chair, holding his chin in his hand as he watched Lea flip channels on a wall-mounted TV rapidly.

"Wanna train some more later?" Sora asked Riku.

His friend nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I want to try out a new technique Mr. Dilan taught me."

"Why bother Sora, he's just going to cream you...as always," Vanitas said, now slumped in his chair.

Sora scowled at him. "That's not helpful Van. Maybe this will be the time that I finally beat him!"

Vanitas laughed loudly, causing Sora's scowl to deepen. As if a switch had been turned off, Vanitas's laughter died in his throat and he got to his feet, staring wide-eyed at the TV. Sora followed his gaze, and dread immediately gripped his heart. The screen showed Destiny Islands appearing as though it was in a sea of blackness. Houses stood ruined and on closer inspection, Sora saw that the sea of black was moving, revealing glowing pairs of yellow eyes. He knew what those things were called, Heartless. What's more is it wasn't just the small variety that sometimes popped up in places, but huge towering ones roamed the streets, wrecking havoc wherever they went. An announcer was speaking about the issue, and Lea turned the volume up higher to hear him.

"More than half of the residents have been reported missing. With no deaths to report yet. There have been similar issues in 10 of the 13 worlds. The only three that aren't effected so far are, Midgar, Twilight Town and Wonderland. We suggest you check each worlds channel to find out more on the damage to the other worlds."

Isa snatched the remote from Lea, switching the channel to show a place filled with trees. Some place called Guadosalam. There the leader, one Seymour Guado, was talking about damages done to his town, and how he was evacuating the remaining citizens out of the world.

Several students had their phones out and were calling home. Zexion excused himself to speak with Xemnas and Sora at last reached for his phone as well. Vanitas already had his out.

"I'll call mom," Vanitas said, his phone to his ear.

Sora dialed their fathers number, when he didn't answer he tried again. Glancing to his left he saw that Vanitas was having no more luck with their mother. Switching gears, he tried Roxas's phone. And at last when he didn't pick up, Ventus's. When he didn't answer, he tried Kairi, hoping to hear from anyone. Worry gripped his heart as he tried Ventus yet again.

"Sora?" said Ventus just as Sora was going to hang up, static making him hard to hear.

"Ven! Is everyone okay?" Sora asked.

"K-Mom is-Be safe," Ventus said, his words being severely butchered. "Talk-Bye Sora."

"Wait Ven!" Sora yelled into the phone, but too late, the line had been severed.

Vanitas was watching him, concern etched on his face. "Are they okay?"

Still gripping the phone, Sora stared at it numbly. "I dunno... He tried to tell me but it kept cutting out his voice. He-he wasn't crying though." Something which perhaps was a good indication, Ventus cried easily.

"...That's good," Vanitas said quietly. "I'm sure they're fine then. We both know how strong our parents are... I'm sure Kairi's okay too, her father is the world leader after all. And for good reason, no matter how irritating the man is."

Vanitas hit home another worry Sora had. But he knew his brother was right, Kairi would be well taken care of. He glanced up at the TV again to see it was now on a world called Radiant Garden, the leader, some woman called Maleficent, was talking about it. And Isa and Marluxia were listening with rapt attention. They were the only other people in the room besides the twins and Riku, who seemed a bit at a loss.

"Come on, let's go talk to Xemnas," Sora said, grabbing Vanitas's sleeve and Riku's arm and yanking them out of the room with him.

They found Xemnas in his office, Zexion stood in front of him, arguing about something or another. Demyx and Lea were also in there, but were letting Zexion do all the talking. However almost as soon as they came in, Xemnas exasperatedly told Zexion to be quiet while he made a phone call. The illusionist scowled, and crossing his arms, came to stand beside Riku. He almost immediately strode forward again.

"Look, sir, if you just let me speak to Mr. Hewley I might be able to help further secure this world," Zexion said, sounding on edge.

Xemnas slammed his phone down, losing his careful calm that he usually held. "I will not Zexion. That is my final answer. You may be a genius, of special status, but you are a student in my school and I cannot allow you into harms way. You will abide by the rules."

Glaring daggers, Zexion stormed away, bumping into Sora as he passed by him. Before Xemnas could turn back to his phone, Sora and Lea had stepped forward.

"Sir, I'm really worried about my family, they showed the islands on TV... I need to contact them, see if they're okay," Sora said anxiously, trying his best to remain somewhat calm.

Holding his phone Xemnas let out a slow sigh touching the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "Everyone, I apologize. But get out of my sight until I figure this out. Braig! Good, seal the castle until I give further notice."

* * *

Sora sat cross legged on the floor beside his bed, staring out at the window across from him. His phone was plugged into the wall, charging with the ringer turned fully up. Behind him his twin sat on his bed, his eyes darting back and forth as he calmly read a book assignment. This was another one of those times where Sora didn't understand him. He didn't understand how he could be so calm, acting entirely unnerved. The only hints that he was at all worried, was the fact that his eyes roved a little faster than usual over the page, as though he was reading but not internalizing anything in it, and the fact that he was still in Sora's room despite the fact that it was in the wee hours of the morning and the castle was entirely dark and silent. Riku left to go to his room an hour prior.

Worried thoughts for the wellbeing of his family and friends on the islands occupied his mind as he, tired of sitting in one place, began pacing. He picked up his phone and sighed. A quick glance at his brother showed that he was asleep with the book still clutched in his hands. Sora stifled a yawn before turning to stare out of the window. But he really couldn't see anything outside. He covered his ears suddenly when he heard the sound of a deep ring that distinctly reminded him of...a doorbell? Yet much louder. That couldn't be right.

"What in the worlds?" Vanitas said groggily, leaping off of the bed and leaving the room.

Sora followed close behind as Vanitas made his way down the many flights of stairs. Apparently also thinking along Sora's line of it having sounded like a doorbell. However, castles didn't have doorbells, did they? Sora had no idea.

He and Vanitas were not the only ones going to investigate the sound. Marluxia was already at the double entrance doors, as were Xemnas and Aeleus. Xemnas swiped his hand through the air, taking away a shimmer of energy protecting the door. That taken care of, he pulled one open slightly. Sora crept forward, and he could hear Vanitas following behind. Before Sora could see who was there, Xemnas had pulled the doors all of the way open, and gestured that whoever was out there should enter. Sora stared in surprise and happiness as Kairi entered, followed by Ventus, Roxas and a girl around his, Sora's, age with pale blond hair. Behind them walked Kairi's father, or rather, stepfather, who was also leader of Destiny Islands. They were followed by a man Sora didn't know, with black hair and a frown on his face. Last came a woman, with bright green hair and matching, somewhat strange green clothes.

"Mr. Rhapsodos, Mr. Hewley... What can I do for you at this late hour?" Xemnas inquired.

Sora ran up to Kairi and his brothers, grinning, a grin which quickly turned into a frown at his brother Ventus's expression. His eyes were brimmed with tears. He walked up to Sora and gave him a hug. Unlike his twin, Ventus didn't particularly care about looking cool. Vanitas had also walked up, he smiled at the group.

"So what's up?" Vanitas inquired of them.

Kairi tilted her head towards her father. "Listen."

"I need to enroll these four into this academy tonight," Mr. Rhapsodos said, handing a stack of legal papers to Xemnas, who seemed quite shocked. "I also need to ask that you lower the age of acceptance, to allow Ventus and Roxas Strife to be allowed to be taught here. This is of the utmost importance."

Xemnas looked, if possible, even more shocked and taken aback. "That isn't something easily done. But if you like, we can all go and speak in my office. Your daughter and the other three may wait in one of our sitting rooms. Marluxia? Lead them to the gray room."

Marluxia nodded quickly. "Follow me."

Sora walked beside Kairi, as the twins trailed behind Vanitas in front of them. Sora glanced at Kairi out of the corner of his eye, to see her wringing her hands as she watched her feet. She caught his eye after a moment, and smiled slightly, quietly slipping her hand into his.

"I'm glad you're safe Kairi," Sora said. "I was really worried."

"You too," she replied. "The islands are a total mess. But don't worry, your parents are safe, they're off with most of the world leaders right now, trying to figure out how to stop those monsters."

This did relieve Sora greatly. Perhaps if his parents were anyone else, he would be worried as to their wellbeing, but they could handle monsters quite easily. He only worried about everyone else on the islands. And the other worlds too for that matter.

The gray room was entirely empty save for Zexion who sat back in a chair reading his usual thick book. He glanced up over top of it when they came in, looking at each person in turn before turning back to his book.

After a moments hesitation, Sora sat down on a long couch, Kairi sat beside him. Ventus joined them, while Roxas and Vanitas sat on the ground in front of them. The blond girl sat on another couch a short distance away, but still within earshot. Riku appeared in the doorway just then and his eyes widened briefly before he ran over.

"Kairi!" said Riku before then glancing at the younger set of twins, he ruffled Ventus's hair. "So that was all of you guys at the door?"

"Yeah," Kairi said.

Riku's expression grew serious at Kairi's. He smiled slightly. "I'm glad all of you are safe at least. How are Mr. and Mrs. Strife?"

It was Roxas who answered. "They're okay. Dad came home briefly and arranged for Mr. Rhapsodos to bring us here with Kairi and took mom with him... I dunno about anyone else really though."

Sora for once didn't know what to say to anyone, as a result they all sat in silence for a long time. Finally however, Sora took notice of the blond girl who was clutching a notebook so tightly in her hands that her knuckles had turned white. Sympathy for her flooded through Sora's heart and getting to his feet he approached her. She didn't seem to notice him until he was standing directly in front of her. She looked up at him slowly, all the color draining out from her face.

Sora grinned. "Hey, can I sit here?"

It took her a moment to nod, pulling her knees up and resting her notebook against them. Sora sat down, unable to stifle a yawn.

"I'm Sora, what's your name?"

She peeked at him sideways, her eyes meeting his. At last she looked away, biting her lower lip. She quickly scribbled something with a pale blue crayon and then held up the notebook for him to see. Sora frowned slightly, before deducing that she must not be used to communicating with strangers. Or maybe she thought it a more fun way to introduce herself. Either way, Sora smiled.

"Naminé...that's a pretty name," Sora said.

She gave him the first hints of a smile before looking away shyly, glancing instead towards the doorway. Following her gaze, Sora saw Xemnas, Mr. Rhapsodos, and the two people he didn't know enter the room. Xemnas folded his hands in front of him.

"After much deliberation, the other teachers and I have decided to lower the age to 13. We see it as necessary at present. Say your goodbyes, and then we will convene in the meeting rooms," Xemnas said. "The other teachers have gone to wake the rest of your fellow students."

The green haired woman approached Naminé and they embraced. Sora purposefully paid no attention to what the woman was saying, figuring that they would want their privacy. He instead got to his feet and stood beside Riku who was watching Kairi say goodbye to her stepfather.

"It'll be nice, the three of us going to the same school again," Riku said quietly.

Sora's eyebrows furrowed slightly; he didn't like the way Riku's eyes lingered on Kairi. He knew his friend also had feelings for her, another reason he was happy with how much time Riku was spending with Xion. Finally he nodded in agreement, tucking his hands behind his head with a smile.

"Sure will!" Sora agreed. Noticing a frown on Roxas's face he approached him before slinging his arm across his shoulders with a grin. Roxas must not have noticed him coming however because he jumped before smiling at his older brother. "Everyone will be fine Roxas, I'm sure of it."

A short time later Sora made his way up to the meeting room, followed closely by Ventus who appeared to be getting somewhat excited. Roxas was simply walking silently beside Riku a little ways in front of Sora.

"So what weapon did you pick Sora?" Ventus asked eagerly.

Sora grinned, holding his hand out in front of him, he summoned his Keyblade. This drew the attention of Kairi and his other twin as well.

"Wow!" Roxas exclaimed, slowing down until he walked on Sora's other side. "What is that?"

"A Keyblade," Sora said, smiling up ahead at Kairi who was looking back over at him. "You guys should get one. They're awesome!"

Apparently the three of them, Kairi, Ventus and Roxas were quite impressed with the Keyblade. As they each ended up choosing one. Roxas's Keyblade, the Oblivion Keyblade, was the only one that was not entirely light. But not as dark as Vanitas's either. Naminé meanwhile didn't partake in the weapon choosing, as like Xion had, she already had her weapon.

"Naminé's weapon is that notebook you see. It never runs out of pages, and has the ability to create the items she draws. And may yet hold more secrets than that," Xemnas said. Zexion seemed the most interested by that, eyeing her notebook closely. "The meeting is concluded... Get some rest."


	8. Chapter Eight: Vanitas

Chapter Eight: Vanitas

Upon going to bed, Vanitas's sleep was quickly interrupted when he found himself standing in the center of a platform. He scowled, somewhat surprised to not see Sora present. He must be within his own dream then. He glared down at the images on the platform which confirmed that he really was within his own dream. A small circular image of Sora and another one of Marlene rested in the middle while a sleeping image of him spread out on the ground behind them. In a real sleep…that's where he wanted to be at that moment. He let out an agitated sigh as small bluish monsters appeared around him in a circle and multicolored steps appeared across the way before him. Well, he figured he might as well see who he would have to terrorize this time, the best word he could come up with for the missions within his own dreams. Summoning his new weapon he marched past the monsters and walked up the steps, leaving them to scramble after him.

On the next platform above him sat a girl with long blond hair that currently rested over one shoulder. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she clutched a notebook in her hands. Vanitas's eyes widened as he saw a larger monster prepared to leap towards her in attack. He raced forward with his Keyblade and struck it down just before it could reach her. He gasped as a sharp pain struck his heart, causing him to fall to his knees. When he opened his eyes again he saw the girl staring at him with her round crystal blue eyes. She was the newest student. Naminé, that was her name wasn't it?

"T-thank you," she stuttered, her eyebrows creased as she frowned, reaching out towards him. "Did it hurt you?"

A bark of laughter escaped him as he shook his head no. If she but knew. "I'm fine, but why didn't you attack those things?"

She blinked, as though the idea were ludicrous. "Why? This is just a dream."

He shook his head, letting out a shaky breath as he pushed himself to his feet. She got up as well, brushing off her short white skirt.

Vanitas scowled at her, crossing his arms and allowing his Keyblade to disappear. "If you say so."

She looked at him oddly, before smiling and holding out her hand. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Naminé, what's your name?"

Vanitas stared at her hand as though it dripped poison, but after much deliberation grasped it quickly before snatching his hand back before her fingers could close around his hand. He acted as though he just touched fire.

"Vanitas Strife, it's a pleasure," Vanitas muttered.

He nearly jumped when she bent forward to meet his downcast eyes with a shy smile. "Nice to meet you Vanitas... What were those things?"

He kicked at the ground in front of him with a scowl. "My darkness, manifested within this dream. Now come on...lets get this over with."

He marched forward and up the steps, hearing Naminé following behind him. This staircase was much longer than the last. And would lead them to unknown terrors. Vanitas hated his dreams. Hated what they did to others. And for good reason.

"This...it doesn't feel like a normal dream," Naminé said after a time, her voice sounding shaky.

Vanitas looked back at her, curiously raising one eyebrow. Would she be the first to actually figure it out? He wouldn't be surprised on the one hand. She looked intelligent. But he didn't think his dream was a good place for her to put two and two together. If they were in Sora's, where they were trying to help her, that would be a different story.

At last Vanitas reached the top of the steps and waited for Naminé to catch up. She looked at him curiously, but said nothing as together they stepped onto the following platform. As soon as both of their feet were solidly planted on top of it, the platform beneath them disappeared and they were falling through what looked like space. Vanitas landed on grass after what felt like an eternity. A loud thud let him know that Naminé had landed as well. He got to his feet and looked around, apprehensive of whatever was to come. There was a sharp gasp from Naminé as she too, got to her feet.

"No...why am I back here?" her voice rose an octave towards the end, causing Vanitas to close his eyes. Why did his dreams always have to bring such pain to others? Was it only because of the darkness in his heart? Why couldn't he ever simply _help_ people like Sora did so well?

His voice was a low growl when he spoke next. "Come on, let's go inside."

Naminé shook her head no sharply, having turned a deathly shade of white. Her lips had also taken on a bluish tinge, as though she wasn't getting enough oxygen. Sympathy welled inside Vanitas as he looked away, his hands balling into fists.

"...I'm sorry," he muttered, so lowly he wasn't sure if she heard him. If she did she gave no sign that she had.

Darkness surrounded them and suddenly they were transported into what appeared to be a throne room. Standing in front of the throne stood a tall man, a king, with shoulder length pale hair and armor of a pale bluish color. Beside him was a woman, long golden hair tied back in a long pony tail and wearing a queens robes. Beside her was a boy, older than seven but not yet ten. In the woman's arms was a young girl with long blond hair a couple shades darker than the kings. Naminé. They had barricaded themselves in the throne room. With a handful of guards inside with them. Vanitas stared, before turning to look at Naminé worriedly. She was staring numbly ahead, appearing as though she were frozen.

The doors were thrown open just then, causing Vanitas to spin around with his Keyblade in hand. A platoon of soldiers in a different color uniform entered. And out of the corner of his eye Vanitas noticed the king step forward to block his family. He watched in slow motion as the soldiers rushed towards the little family and then quickly looked away. Knowing full well the outcome of this. He forced himself not to look at Naminé. There was nothing he could do to stop this.

He glanced back once, in time to see her mother struck down. However when he saw one of the men look at the young boy he couldn't take it anymore. His dreams made people relive their worst memories in the most vivid of details, and he was always unable to help. Whether these were mere memories or if he transcended time itself he wasn't sure. All he knew was that no one had been forced to relive such a terrible memory within his dreams before. And he couldn't let her see this now. However just as he ran forward everything faded to black once more and suddenly he was sitting up shaking in his bed, drenched on sweat. He gripped his hair in his hands and barely kept himself from crying. He couldn't hurt people like that anymore. He couldn't take it. He felt truly awful for Naminé. To think she had had to witness the death of her family and when she was so young. She couldn't have been older than five. He couldn't even begin to imagine how awful she was feeling just then.

Sweat trickling down his back, he swung his feet out of bed. Not bothering to change before leaving his room. He ran down the hall, not quite sure how he was going to get there, but determined to make sure Naminé was all right. Yet, somehow he found himself in a strange hall. And there, a short distance away, was Naminé crying with her arms wrapped around herself outside of what must have been her room. She stood still, shaking as tears flowed down her cheeks, beading at her chin.

Vanitas crept forward after a moments indecision, never had he hated himself as much as he did in that moment. He felt like a monster. Hurting others this badly. He stood in front of her, at a loss of what to do for a couple minutes. But when she failed to draw in a breath he suddenly stepped forward, crossing the distance between them in a couple strides and wrapped his arms around her. He held her head against his chest, and rubbed her back comfortingly. And either she saw him coming, or was too freaked out to be scared of him, but she simply stood there struggling even to get a breath in or out. They stood like that for a long time, Vanitas hoping he was offering her some type of comfort and feeling intense self-loathing. Slowly the minutes crept by, and Naminé's breathing calmed, until at last she was just sobbing uncontrollably against his shoulder. He changed tactics and began stroking her hair, hoping it was reassuring. Finally even her sobs quieted down and she placed her arms around him as well. He froze, his body going cold and his breath quickening. He jerked to step back but she already had, staring at him with wide reddened eyes.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and moved to lean against the wall. He felt Naminé's eyes on his face but didn't open his eyes again until he was entirely calm. Naminé and he stared at each other for several moments until she ran into her room and came back out with her notebook, and words scribbled on the paper. She held it out to him, and he read it quickly with the soft glow of the moon coming in through a window at the end of the hall. It read: _Thank you. Are you okay?_

He frowned, looking between her and the notebook several times, before it dawned on him. And made sense with what he had just seen. "You don't talk... Yeah I'm fine, and you really shouldn't be thanking me."

She tilted her head curiously and reached for the notebook back which Vanitas easily handed over. He scowled at his shoes as she quickly scribbled something on it, before holding it up for him to read. He strode over to the window to get more light and she followed, still holding it up. Vanitas's eyes skimmed it quickly. At last he sighed, folding his arms across his chest.

"You guessed it," said Vanitas. "I can't...I can't stand being touched by anyone. Doesn't matter whether they're a guy or a girl, or closely related or a complete stranger. Sora however, doesn't bother me. I've been that way ever since I was six years old."

She held out her notebook again, this time it said: _What happened?_

Vanitas to be honest wasn't entirely sure why he admitted that much, it was a family secret. Well...Riku and Kairi also knew, but they were practically family and didn't really count. But it didn't matter how awful he felt for Naminé at the moment. He wouldn't tell her anything more.

"Doesn't matter," he muttered, looking away. He turned back to peek at her face. "Are you all right?"

She nodded too quickly, a shadow falling back over her face as she clutched her notebook again. Vanitas walked back past her, stuffing his hands into his pajama pockets. He turned his face towards his shoulder.

"I think I'm going to walk around the back gardens for a bit. Have you seen them?" Vanitas asked softly, without looking at her.

With that, he walked onwards, and only smiled slightly to himself when he heard her shoes thudding on the floor as she ran after him. He strode down through the dark castle and didn't pause when he got to the back doors, opening them with one fluid motion and stepping out onto the grass. He suddenly realized that he was still barefoot but didn't particularly care as he strode briskly through the grass, aware of the cool temperature as the wind blew his bangs off of his forehead.

After walking in several circles and hearing Naminé keeping pace with him a few steps behind all the while, Vanitas drew to a halt in front of the large water fountain. Placing his palms back onto it he sat down on the smooth surface, enjoying the sound of the water falling right behind him. He looked over to his right when he heard Naminé set her notebook down beside him, before sitting down on the other side of it. She was frowning when she looked at him, before determinedly writing something on the notebook. Vanitas looked up at the sky, aware of the sky quickly growing pink. When he looked back down Naminé was standing in front of him holding her sketchbook in front of her. It said: _Your dreams aren't normal are they? I know you remember it and that's why you came._

Vanitas scowled and took his time responding. Yeah, he should have known that his coming to her afterward would have repercussions. But his mind was too tired to care as much as he probably should.

"Yeah," he said. "But I don't have any control over them. So yeah, sorry for digging that memory up again for you."

Her eyes widened suddenly and she wrote frantically with her crayon again. Vanitas distinctly thought she would be far better off with a pencil, but didn't voice that opinion.

Naminé's next words portrayed the fear that was now on her face: _Please, you mustn't tell anyone what you saw. You have to promise me._

Vanitas looked at her cooly for a minute before looking back up to the sky again, he at last sighed, leaping quickly onto the ground again. He placed his hand on her shoulder with a wry smile.

"Don't worry, I'm good at keeping secrets...now my twin on the other hand..." he trailed off, taking a step back but still smiling. "I am sorry though. What a memory to have... I get the feeling you and I are gonna get along."

She nodded briskly, a soft smile slowly spreading across her lips, before quickly scribbling on her notebook and showing him. He smiled.

"Goodnight to you as well, I hope you have good dreams this time," Vanitas said, turning to look back at the sky as he heard her footsteps retreating into the castle.

He sat down on the stone pavement, leaning back against a hedge. He scowled up at the sky as rain began pouring down, clouds having quickly covered the previously clear skies. It was as if the weather matched his mood perfectly with thunder rumbling in the distance.

Was there any light inside him at all? His fathers words rolled through his mind again, he only wondered if his father spoke the truth or rather what he merely wanted to believe. All his dreams brought were misery to all, bringing up the memories that hurt the heart the worst, the complete opposite of Sora's kind dreams designed to bring peace to the heart.

Vanitas froze at the sound of a thud behind him. He got to his feet quietly, wondering whether the gardens like the castle currently had a protection spell placed over it or not. He was glad to be barefoot, so that his footsteps were very near silent, allowing him to creep along the hedges towards the source of the noise. He strained to hear through the sound of the now raging storm for any trace of noise that didn't belong. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was no longer alone in the garden. If it was one of his brothers he would be very angry indeed.

A dark shadow rushed past him, causing a gust of wind to knock him back into a hedge, chills ran up Vanitas's spine as he looked as hard as he could through the rain. A face shone through the darkness, a face covered in white paint and clownish make up that was staining the perfectly white face of said person. Vanitas summoned his Keyblade, pointing it at the jester like man who merely grinned in response before suddenly appearing directly in front of Vanitas, lifting the the teen by his throat, causing the world to go fuzzy around him.

"Yes, yes... You're perfect, I think for once even Kadaj and Xehanort will be pleased. Yes indeed," spoke the man. As the world started to go dark around Vanitas, his flailing availing to nothing, the man frowned. "Another time I think."

Vanitas felt himself fly back through the air as he struggled to catch his breath. His back hit something hard, or rather someone, and both fell to the ground hard, Vanitas's landing made soft. He reeled upwards, staring wild eyed into the darkness where the man just was. He was nowhere in sight, alarming Vanitas as he breathed heavily.

"Oi, ouch!"

Vanitas turned around, clutching his throat to find a girl, likely almost two years his junior on the ground right behind him, rubbing her back as she frowned at him. Her clothes, much like Vanitas's, were soaked through. Most of her wavy pale hair was pulled up under a multicolored beanie but what wasn't was plastered against her face. A couple feet away from her lay what looked like a notebook.

"Who are you?" Vanitas demanded, summoning his Keyblade again and pointing it at her.

She raised her eyebrows. "Who are you? And why exactly did you knock me over?"

Vanitas glared. "I was thrown into you by that weird guy, not like I knocked you over on purpose."

For the first time Vanitas noticed the two people behind her. One, a girl a bit older than him with short blue hair, and the other a guy near the same age as her with brown hair and bangs on either side of his face.

"Just who are you people?" Vanitas asked, scooting backwards.

The other two stepped forward, lifting the girl up by her elbows until she was in a standing position. The guy then held his hand out to Vanitas with a smile.

"Not to worry, I'm Terra. Aqua and I were previously enrolled here, and have been sent back here by Master Eraqus, whose friend has entrusted us to bring his granddaughter to the school with us to enroll in the hopes that she'll be safe here," the guy said.

"In case you're forgetting Terra, I saved you and Miss Aqua when we first entered Midgar remember?" the younger girl said teasingly.

Vanitas got to his feet, ignoring the hand offered, but stumbled and had to lean quickly against a hedge in order not to fall, but at last calming down a bit. "I've heard of you two... Did either of you see the clown man?"

"No but I wouldn't doubt it," Aqua said, looking out past him. "The world is a scary place right now."

Vanitas, slowly regaining hold of his fear, walked slowly over to the thing he thought was a notebook (in truth an easel) and lifting it along with a paintbrush beside it, before holding it out to the other girl. She grabbed it but before Vanitas could turn away she had placed a palm on his forehead. He stepped backwards, would have slipped in the rain but the girl grabbed him before he could crash to the ground.

"L-let go of me!"

She released the grip on his arm. "Fine, weirdo... You really don't look well." Turning to Aqua she gripped Vanitas's sleeve. "Let's get him to the infirmary."

Noticing how bad he was shaking he merely allowed her to pull him along without a struggle. Did the man do something to him? Just who was he? And what exactly did he want with he, Vanitas, wasn't he ever going to catch a break?

"So," the girl said, catching Vanitas's attention. "How exactly are you going to make it up to me?"

Vanitas blinked, taken aback. "Make what up to you?"

She frowned, lifting her rain soaked easel for him to see. "Ruining my easel silly."

Vanitas wasn't sure he'd ever been called so many sarcastic things at one time before. A sarcastic bark of a laugh escaped him. "Silly girl, what did you have in mind exactly?"

She tapped her paintbrush to her chin before grinning just as they stepped into the castle. "You could let me paint your picture."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

"Aqua, Terra! My, what have we here?"

Vanitas looked up to see Zexion walking quickly towards them, his book in hand, a look of intense surprise on his face. Water splatters could be seen in his messier than usual hair.

"Zexion, did you see that man?" Vanitas asked, knowing how observant he was.

"What man do you speak of exactly?" Zexion asked, appraising his appearance with quick eyes. "You four are the first I've seen tonight."

"What are you doing up Zexion?" Terra asked.

"Sora asked me to help find this one. He was worried something might have happened to him," Zexion replied. "I'll get him checked out, you three go talk to Xemnas."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hi all! I just need to edit the next chapter so I'll hopefully post the next one in the next few days. After that updates might be a bit slower since I'll be caught up to my writing. I still intend to post new chapters fairly often though.

Any reviews/comments are much appreciated.


	9. Chapter Nine: Zexion

Chapter Nine: Zexion

Zexion was hardly surprised to see the newcomers. Xemnas had mentioned that they were coming, along with the blue mage Strago's granddaughter, Relm Arrowny.

Turning to Vanitas, Zexion reached for him. Vanitas flinched, looking perhaps even paler than he had a moment earlier. Alarm pierced Zexion. He didn't look good, and his eyes, they had taken on a golden hue. Vanitas spoke of a man, now Zexion wondered just what he had done to the boy. Whatever he had done it was his fault. Entirely and completely. As the girl released him, Zexion reached out and took hold of the corner of Vanitas's sleeve she had held previously. Still Vanitas frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"It's good to see you again Zexion," Aqua said with a small smile, before glancing over at Vanitas. "You'd best hurry him to Mr. Even."

He nodded, before immediately setting off down the dark hall with Vanitas in tow, careful not to go faster than Vanitas seemed capable of at that time, but knowing the difference five and seven minutes could alter his prognosis. At last upon reaching his room, he flung the door open, pulling Vanitas in after him before shutting the door and locking it. Zexion wasn't expecting the arm that was swung in his direction as soon as the lock clicked home, and stumbled against the wall, his head throbbing. He turned to see Vanitas glare at him, already reaching for the lock.

"This isn't the hospital room, what are you doing with me?" Vanitas demanded.

Zexion sighed. "Not the trusting sort are you? Now stay there, or sit, whichever you prefer."

Vanitas's eyes narrowed. "You, as the most observant person here. With such magical abilities... Did you happen to see that man who was outside? With the painted face? Do you know who he was?"

Frustration crept in on Zexion as he grabbed Vanitas's arm and tugged him down in his corner armchair, dodging a fist flung at his jaw. Apparently his reflux when someone grabbed him suddenly. He moved over to his dresser, opening the very bottom drawer and flinging things out of it.

"Wait, you actually did didn't you? Did you let him in the castle grounds? Are you going to poison me?"

"I'm trying to save you so shut it!" Zexion yelled back at him.

Vanitas was quiet after that. At last finding what he was looking for, Zexion stuck a needle into a light colored liquid before striding back over to Vanitas, quickly sliding said needle into the younger teens arm. Vanitas yelped, jerking his arm back before glaring up at Zexion. Looking at Vanitas's eyes, Zexion breathed a sigh of relief as the strange golden color faded from his eyes. As he watched they returned to their normal hazel color and then slowly, Vanitas's eyes seemed to regain the ability to focus.

"I feel better...thanks," Vanitas said, hesitation coloring his tone.

"Good. Now where was this man that you saw?" Zexion asked.

Vanitas brought his hand up to his heart, taking a deep breath. "He was out in the back gardens, next to some hedges. Who is he exactly?"

Satisfied that he was on the mend Zexion strode back over to his dresser, setting the bottle back within before throwing the needle away. Now how was he going to escape these annoying questions so he could go and do what was far more important?

"Is he working for Sephiroth and that group who like messing with people's hearts? As I'm assuming you know about them," Vanitas further inquired.

"Sephiroth," Zexion echoed, frowning. "What makes you think he works with them? The man is a loner, any group he might have worked with wants nothing to do with him now. And judging by his level of sanity displayed these days, I cannot say that I blame them... But as for the man you saw, yes he does work with them."

"So what, he tried to turn my heart dark?" Vanitas laughed. "Mine is already as dark as they come, what difference does it make?"

"Hearts have a way of absorbing the light around them, perhaps yours was not as dark as you believed, or perhaps your heart is closer to becoming entirely dark than you thought. Either way, it makes the world of difference," Zexion said, opening his door and gesturing Vanitas out of it. "Leave, I will not help you again, so stay inside the castle and out of trouble."

Vanitas stood, stretching. "But..."

Zexion cut him off. "No, I'm done answering questions, go someplace else and don't mention this to the teachers."

Apparently Vanitas caught the irritation in his tone as he frowned but did leave, without so much as saying thank you; not that Zexion expected any such thing anyway. He scowled when he saw Sora coming down the hall, he met Vanitas halfway and the two began walking back together, Sora speaking rapidly. Turning away from both of them, Zexion walked the opposite way back down the hall. Now, his hard task began. One far from easy, and greatly to his distaste as he avoided combat if at all possible. Much preferring to leave that aspect of life to others if at all possible and sticking with the more intellectual side of things. Still he didn't see how he could avoid it. After all, it was his fault that the man got out in the first place. If he hadn't gone to speak with him he wouldn't have been able to slip out of the castle dungeons as he had.

Reaching the doors to the garden Zexion quietly exited through them, locking them again from the outside in the hopes of hiding the fact that he went out. That should be enough to convince most. He slipped on his gloves and pulled down his hood before using his illusions to hide his appearance amongst the dark shadows. He only hoped it would be enough. Kefka wasn't the brightest man alive...but still, he could be surprisingly sharp on occasion. Upon reaching the outer wall Zexion began counting bricks from one corner, stopping upon reaching 52, where he then felt upwards with his booted foot to find one of the bricks out of place. He reached up carefully and to the right, finding a place to grab hold of. And in this way began his climb over the outer wall. At the top all he had to do were to bend his illusions and make himself mostly invisible in order to slip out undetected. Kefka with his magical ability must have found it only to easy really. Zexion frowned, looking back over his shoulder at the school, they really needed a better security system, the current one only kept out the people who couldn't do them any harm. Granted the interior wasn't quite as easy to sneak through, so long as you weren't entirely aware of all of its secrets.

He leapt down easily and began a sprint into the heart of the city. Where people even at that time of night could be seen walking down the streets, either getting off of or going to late jobs, leaving parties or doing less holy things. Zexion in his coat would blend right in, if he weren't already intending to keep his illusions up. He was pretty sure that he knew where Kefka would be headed, he only hoped that he wasn't too late to cut him off. Zexion froze mid step, straining all of his senses behind him as he sniffed the air. Yes, someone was following him. Someone quite familiar in fact. Zexion sighed. He snapped his fingers and promptly heard a yelp from a few feet to his right which caught the attention of passers by. He turned around, scowling now as he reached for another hooded figure. Blue eyes met Zexion's now ice cold ones. He waited a brief moment for everyone else to turn away before speaking.

"What is with this night I wonder," Zexion muttered, half to himself and half to the bothersome teen before him. "Everyone decides to go out for a stroll. Why are you following me Demyx? Tell me, now."

Demyx rested his arms across his sitar with a lazy shrug, pressing Zexion's buttons. "Wasn't my plan at first, but then I thought we might be headed in the same direction. Plus, it's fun being nosy. What are you doing so secretive Ion? Making yourself nearly invisible and all?"

Zexion raised his eyebrows. He would never understand Demyx and and Mr. Braig's fascination with nicknames, however Demyx was smart not to call him by he other name he'd heard himself referred to as.

"Where might you be headed? I highly doubt we're going the same way," Zexion asked. "I am tempted to believe that you are lying and merely trying not to be as bored as you usually look...when you aren't mopping the castle that is."

Demyx frowned, nearly pouting. "Not cool man. Nah, I won't get in your way, I just wanna leave this world too."

Zexion raised his eyebrows. "Is that so. Why? Wait, on second thought never mind. I do not have time for this. Turn back."

"Nope, don't want to."

Frustration was once again creeping into Zexion's core. He liked to think he wasn't easily frustrated, but was beginning to reevaluate that. He glowered at Demyx, readjusting his grip on his book so that it fell open.

"Woah, woah. Don't be so mad," Demyx said, holding up his sitar as though it could save him from Zexion's book. "I only want to check on my family. I won't bother you I promise."

Zexion raised his eyebrows. "Very well, but we part ways at the gate. Don't bring me up if you get caught."

Demyx grinned, saluting. "Sir."

Zexion shook his head, thoroughly irritated, and walked on briskly. Reaching his destination in short time, with Demyx trailing a good nine or so feet behind, perhaps afraid of Zexion's stormy expression. Outside of the building with the the entrances to other worlds, Zexion allowed himself to become visible again, quickly changing into Xemnas's form before walking up to the door itself. It scanned his face and then Zexion was allowed to walk inside the brightly lit room. He strode straight to the back of it, swiping his hand through the air for the doors to appear. At last turning around he gestured that Demyx should enter into the world he wanted.

"See ya," Demyx said, waving as he disappeared through the door to a world called Twilight Town.

As soon as the door was safely shut he strode up to the world he would be going inside of, the most ominous door of all, black in color, and quickly strode through it. Somehow, he just knew he would find Kefka there. Stepping into the world was like stepping into a pot of darkness, the darkness which hung there felt thick enough to cut with a knife, sucking the energy from the very air. Changing his appearance back to normal he quickly made himself nearly invisible to the naked eye again. The world had changed much since his last visit, the path from the broken building with the doors to the other worlds had grown more narrow as more of the land had fallen away. Still the path did remain. He stepped quickly across it, walking as lightly as possible in the sand, in vain hopes of his footsteps going unnoticed. As soon as he stepped passed the pathway he changed direction and began walking quickly on top of the magically kept frozen water. This was Sephiroth's domain, and suited the man perfectly. Originally he was thought to be the only man capable of protecting said domain and handling it and all of its darkness and oddities, leadership of said world was passed to him from an elderly sage named Tellah, a man who had been held in much esteem and allowed to choose who would take charge of it. Being fond of the young man at the time and admiring his strength, he chose Sephiroth. Sephiroth, was respectable and kind at that time, Zexion had heard. Married to a woman named Cissnei who he was in love with and who was expecting his son. Living there wasn't much of a life for them but they made the best of it, growing close to the locals and their friends from other worlds.

Zexion froze, before leaping back through the air and holding a knife made from illusions against Kefka's throat. The man let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh dear oh dear, looks like you caught me," he said, laughing. Zexion lifted his book with the other hand, ready to trap him inside. Reaching back, Kefka clamped a hand down on Zexion's wrist. "Are you sure that you'd like to do that again?" In a singsong voice he went on. "Kadajy will come and get you. You shouldn't mess with him."

Zexion scoffed, sucking the insane man into his book once more. "I'm no longer a little boy to be threatened Kefka."

"Aren't you though?"

Zexion swiftly turned, his face becoming an emotionless mask as he pointed his lexicon at the newcomer. The last person he had hoped to run into but knew better than to assume he wouldn't. Kadaj's expression was one of amusement, his double sided sword already pointed at Zexion's neck. He began walking in a slow circle, careful to keep the sword pointed as he went.

"You just keep getting in my way Ienzo," Kadaj said, shaking his head. "If you didn't still have a role to play I would be sorely tempted to do away with you."

"As I have no intention of doing anything for you, perhaps it would be wise to do just that," Zexion said. "Also I would appreciate it if you would stop referring to me by that name. Ienzo was a weak fool, I am no longer that same child."

Kadaj was suddenly in front of him again, his face no longer containing any remnant of humor as he flung his hand out across Zexion's face which would mark the second time someone had been able to hit him in that night alone. His bangs knocked into his eyes, Zexion stood stunned for a moment, his cheek burning. When he at last looked up it was to see Kadaj's mouth curved up in a sneer.

"No, you can't fool me, I know you are the same boy. Only a bit more cocky, maybe more foolish as well," Kadaj said. "Now return the fair jester and we can both walk our different paths...for now."

Zexion held his lexicon against him, glaring at Kadaj with an expression which could have frozen water on Destiny Islands in July. "I think not."

Without awaiting Kadaj's reaction to this, he whipped his lexicon around, sending a gust of wind at the other man before quickly taking off at a run, using the wind to add speed. He raced across the ice and back towards the world exit. He suddenly felt himself pulled back into a sort of bubble, the air inside it thin but still breathable.

"Foolish little Ienzo, thought you could run?" Kadaj said, as water appeared in the bottom of the bubble.

"What are you two doing in my domain? It isn't often I get visitors."

The bubble popped and Zexion found himself crashing to the ground. His hands trembled on his lexicon as he adjusted his grip on it, pulling it to his chest. A flood of memories came into his mind, images of being trapped under water, of being screamed at and threatened, literally thrown through a glass door. He kept his face down to hide the panic from Kadaj.

"My dear little brother, you are hardly welcome here after last time," Sephiroth said. "And you, child, you're the same one from before...aren't you? What was your name again?"

"..." Zexion stared at the sand, trying all of the tricks he knew to more quickly overcome one of his chronically occurring panic attacks. He focused on breathing for a moment. "It's Zexion."

"Thank you Zexion, for rescuing my son," Sephiroth continued. "But that gives you no excuse for being in my world. What brings you here? Is there a particular reason you are fighting?"

"He has one of my men, I've come to fetch him," Kadaj said, and Zexion at last looked up, debating escape plans.

"Is that so?" Sephiroth glanced back at Zexion, his eyes strangely empty. He frowned, tilting his head. "Isn't that a good thing for the worlds? Hmm, leave… Kadaj."

"But..." Kadaj sounded exasperated. Glancing once at his brother he left without further question.

Zexion forced himself to his feet in time to see Sephiroth walking out towards the frozen water, his arms outstretched in front of him. Zexion watched him curiously for a moment and was just about to hurry outside of the world when Sephiroth spoke.

"Did you come to see this world? Magnificent isn't it?"

Zexion spoke matter of factly. "It's in an even worse state of disrepair than it was five years ago."

Sephiroth seemed briefly troubled by this. "Is it? Not at all I think."

"I'm leaving now, thank you for your help sir," Zexion said.

The soldier legend looked back, his eyes glazed over before simply walking off in the opposite direction. Zexion looked regretfully at Sephiroth, he couldn't help but think how remarkable it was that such a man was reduced to such an insane and sorry state. Turning away, Zexion made his appearance into one identical to Sephiroth before striding through and back to his home world, hoping his disguise would fool Kadaj if he passed by him; though he didn't imagine that he would.

"Ack!"

Zexion spun around, making a split second decision to change his appearance back to normal. "Demyx."

The teen sunk to the ground. "It's only you. That wasn't funny! You looked just like him!"

Zexion shook his head, heading towards the exit. "Are you sure you didn't cheat on your IQ test?"

Zexion could hear Demyx scrambling after him. But tuned him out as the teen began exclaiming to the contrary. He had other things on his mind. Like how he was going to escape any plans Kadaj had cooked up that involved him. Not that Kadaj should have need of his abilities. Zexion was one who liked to live a step ahead of whatever life threw at him. He didn't like having no idea what the next week would bring. It terrified him.

He raced across the street a mere couple of seconds before a car thundered by, music blazing. Demyx, much to Zexion's dismay, caught up to him quickly. Still jabbering about Zexion didn't care what.

"So, what were you up to all mysteriously earlier?" Demyx asked. "Wouldn't have anything to do with Sephiroth would it?"

He had succeeded in catching Zexion's attention. Zexion looked away. "...Were your parents alright?"

"Yep," Demyx responded, seemingly distracted again as was Zexion's point to the question.

Zexion was careful to stay a few paces ahead of his companion until they were outside the castle, at which point he stopped. Mr. Aeleus stood outside of the castle, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked first at Demyx and then Zexion.

Demyx tapped Zexion on the shoulder until he looked at him with annoyance. "What?"

"Are we gonna get expelled?" Demyx asked, and Zexion could have sworn that he heard barely concealed happiness in his tone.

"I highly doubt it." Zexion strode forward until he stood a couple feet in front of the teacher. He crossed his arms. "Good evening sir."

Aeleus glared at him, nearly making Zexion take a step back…nearly. "What are you two doing outside the castle? It is dangerous. And against the rules."

"I had some business to take care of," Zexion said, touching his book with a knowing glance.

"...Fine, I'll let it slide. But don't let me catch you outside of the castle again," Aeleus said, gesturing that they should go inside roughly.

Zexion strode inside, hurrying quickly towards the dungeon Kefka was kept in. And knowing how precious every second was. As since the sun was coming up, everyone would be waking by then. No doubt someone would be going to check on the prisoner.

Stepping into the cell he quickly opened his book, letting Kefka drop out onto the stone flooring before hurrying out and locking the door tightly behind him and putting a magical protection on it. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Giving him a glare he turned away and hurriedly ran back into the part of the castle he was allowed in. Hearing movement from above he decided to merely walk into the kitchens and make something to eat. Stepping inside he was partly surprised to see that anyone was up beside himself. Luxord sat with a newspaper in hand working a crossword puzzle with a frown and nibbling at a piece of toast. As far away from him at the table as possible, sat one of the new teens, a girl named Naminé, if Zexion's memory served him right. She sat with her arms wrapped around her, shaking ever so slightly though Zexion could barely perceive it. He paused behind her, debating trying to say something and thought better of it. He moved to the stove and set about making batter for waffles. He made enough for two and stared into the distance as they cooked in the waffle iron. He opened it and set them both out on plates, carrying a stick of butter, maple syrup and brown sugar to the table before setting one of the waffles in front of Naminé and sitting in the seat beside her. She jumped, staring at him alarmed. He held up his hands in a placating manner and she relaxed somewhat. Scrambling to reach for her notebook, she quickly scribbled inside before showing it to him. The words "thank you" were written in blue crayon. Zexion stared at it numbly before turning away momentarily. So she was mute, he wondered what horrors in her life had caused that. If anyone understood, it was him. He turned back to see her watching him with a curious stare.

Offering her a small smile he held out his hand. "I'm Zexion. It's a pleasure to meet you...Naminé."

She smiled, slipping her hand inside his and shaking it once. Before reaching for the butter and offering him some. He shook his head no.

"I'm allergic," he said simply before turning back to his food.

Finishing his waffle he pushed his chair back from the table. Luxord got up and left the room. He frowned as he saw Naminé staring into the distance again. She looked at him, tears could be seen welling up in her eyes as she reached and scribbled something again in the notebook.

"Life is so hard, do you ever wish that you could give up?"

Zexion blinked, looking down. "No, but then I'm too stubborn and despise such laziness..." He looked at her again. "Do you?"

She bit her lip, writing again. "Rarely. I'm stubborn too. Besides, I have a mission."

Standing up, he placed his hand on the top of her head with a smile. "Good. You're strong. The worlds and people in them will try to get you down. Don't ever let them."

She smiled in return, at last taking a bite of her waffle just as Xemnas stepped into the room. He gestured for Zexion to come over to him. He obeyed cautiously, wondering if he had already found out about his little adventure the night before.

"Yes?" Zexion asked.

"Your father is here and wishes to speak with you."

Zexion froze, a shiver running up his spine. "...What?"

"Come with me. Riku's already speaking with him."


End file.
